


Standing Start

by kyeian



Series: Flawless [5]
Category: The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, Fluff, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-19 04:44:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 34,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9419330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyeian/pseuds/kyeian
Summary: Josh is happy to reestablish his friendship with Brian. Unfortunately, he manages to time it just right for his cousin to come back to town.  When L is grabbed from Bui's hotel, will Josh be able to save his friend, or will he be too late? Non-canon (OCs).





	1. Chapter 1

#### Chapter One

 ***Josh**  
    I bowed very slightly to the young lady as I left her at the door to her house, watching as she smiled back at me and slid inside. She was in her early twenties, but she still lived with her family and I didn't feel like being part of a scene. Her brother did not like me. I turned and hurried down the sidewalk, ducking between two of the cars that were parked at the curb.  
    The house was one of about twenty on the street that were too similar to tell apart at a glance. There were cars along the one curb, and the road was fairly narrow. There was an overflow parking section a few houses up on the far side, and the entire development was a gated community.  
    I sauntered to the overflow area, pulling out my fob as I neared the Ferrari. I ended up lost, and wondered idly if a little golf cart would show up to putter me out, but I did eventually find an exit sign. I followed those through to...a new exit.  
    Well, I was in Henderson.  
    I moved out onto the road, heading in a direction I couldn't actually tell. I'd gotten turned around, part of getting lost, and the clouds were obscuring the sun. I'd pull over and check my phone to see where the hell I was, then go find something else to do.  
    My life had been hard, and even harder when I was constantly trying to balance feeding with relationships. I still had a gaping wound in my heart from L, but not factoring her into my life made it depressingly easier to deal with.  
    Maybe...I could actually talk to Brian.  
    I frowned at the thought, shoving it away. I hadn't missed the fear on his face at the ball, regardless of what he'd said later. He'd looked at me, and he'd been afraid. It wasn't fair of me to try to latch onto him when he'd only dealt with me because there hadn't been a way for him _not_ to.  
    I wandered back across town, stopping for a drink in a drive through. It was September, and I was lonely. I'd been able to "make friends" with Brian's replacement at Secrets, but Will wasn't nearly as able as Brian had been. I mean, I'd successfully gotten Brian to stalk wizards after a couple minutes on the cell phone.  
    Ah well, spilled milk for cats.  
    I shook my head as I turned toward the house, taking the back roads. Andon had shown up again for the first time since I'd met Ryan. He'd been trying to talk to me whenever he saw me, and I didn't have the energy to deal with that. His car was still in the drive, something he'd regret the next time he tried to get into it, but it was the clue I needed for me to turn away from the manor.  
    I sighed, deciding to hit a shopping center for a bit. I was tired of driving, it'd taken an hour to get from Henderson back to the house, but I wanted to deal with my family even less.  
    I realized, as I pulled into the lot, that it was nearly ten at night. The only store that would be open was Target, but I had nothing better to do.  
    I sighed, smelling something familiar as I moved toward the building. I had no idea what it'd be, and there were so many layers of scent that it was dumb of me to even try—it was probably a perfume. What had Ryan called it? Eu de wizard?  
    I smiled sadly to myself, heading into the store. I'd taken Justine to try and talk to L after the Mayday ball, but L had been furious. I hadn't thought out bringing another woman with me to speak with her, and everything had really ended. None of that group had contacted me since, and I was...okay with that. Brian had always been scared of me, and I was kidding myself thinking anything else.  
    I wandered through the display near the door, then sighed and wandered toward the back of the store for the men's wear. They sold the bulk undershirts here, and I tended to live out of those, more colors would be good, or maybe I could buy all black and confuse the hell out of my family. I smiled slightly to myself, slowing as I considered the endcaps.  
    ...and smelled it again.  
    Nothing became obvious when I looked around, and I tried to place the scent as I wandered through an aisle of boxers. It wasn't perfume; it was something else, something _warmer_.  
    ...it was Brian.  
    I stopped to stare at him as I neared the end of the aisle, my hands in my pockets.  
    He shifted how he stood slightly, running a hand through his hair as he read a plastic wrapped shirt package...he hadn't noticed me yet.  
    Part of me thought it would be hilarious to stand there and call him to me, to let my darker nature paw at him...but the rest of me ignored that.  
    I cleared my throat.  
    Brian raised his head without looking around, most likely assuming someone wanted past him...then froze. He jerked his head to look up at me, and I saw his eyes light up briefly...before he looked away and shifted aside.  
    "Really?" I asked blankly, moving nearer to him.  
    "I don't want to have sex with you," he retorted, a lot more acid in his tone than I expected.  
    ...oh...yeah. That pretty much summed up our last few conversations...all but the one at the stupid ball itself.  
    "Wanna see how long it'd take me to break that?" I retorted, leaning against the opposite side of the aisle.  
    "I'm leaving in a minute," he said in a tired tone. "I won't make you talk to me."  
    "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, rubbing at my face. The gesture made him twitch slightly, and I realized that he was tense.  
    "You don't have to talk to me," he pointed out, lifting his eyes to mine again.  
    I had seen that sparkle, though, I'd seen that he was happy to see me. It didn't tally with anything I'd expected. I'd seen his fear before, so what was with that? Why the attitude if he wasn't afraid?  
    ...but then, I had walled him out of my life entirely. If I had misread him, and he'd actually been afraid of my cousin and not me, everything that had followed would have been...painful. I couldn't expect hurt feelings to vanish just because I was willing to talk again.  
    Damn.  
    I watched him as I tried to work something else out to say, then focused on the package he was holding. He was actually reading it. ...why was he reading it?  
    I swallowed slightly, looking back to the floor. "I'm sorry."  
    He shifted how he stood again, frowning up to me.  
    "I am sorry," I said again, meeting his eyes briefly. "I wasn't right to you."  
    He lowered the package slowly as he studied me.  
    "I...I just wanted to say that," I noted, moving around him to grab a package of black wife-beaters from the wall behind him. I turned to start away, again.  
    "You're a real piece of work Rossi," he noted darkly.  
    I slowed and turned my head without looking at him.  
    He shifted to stand in the aisle, looking me over with a shake of his head. "Don't just walk away."  
    "You don't want to talk to me," I pointed out, considering the carpet in front of me.  
    "If you took the time to stalk me," he noted dryly, "then far be it for me to..."  
    I smirked at that notion, shaking my head as I turned to face him again. "I did not stalk you."  
    He quirked an eyebrow at me.  
    "What do I hunt, buck?" I asked pointedly, meeting his eyes. "What would I stalk?"  
    I saw amusement and distaste cross his face quickly, and he fought a smile back as he shook his head.  
    I shifted slightly closer, hesitating.  
    "What are you doing here?" he asked tiredly.  
    "Andon is in town," I made a face as I moved to rejoin him. "I've been avoiding the house."  
    Fear.  
    I raised a hand before he could more than tense up. "Just Andon. Ethan hasn't tried coming back."  
    He crossed his arms over his chest. He was wearing one of Ryan's sweaters, and I wondered why. He'd been using it for security back when things were crazy, and if he'd decided to make a fashion statement he was doing it all wrong. They looked horrible on him, the sleeves rolled up and the neckline hanging low enough on his chest that he'd show cleavage if he had breasts...  
    Brian looked away from me again.  
    "That looks ridiculous," I pointed out. "Why are you still wearing it?"  
    "It'll burn you," his eyes actually lit up again as he looked back to me. "Come touch it."  
    "That's from Ryan?" I asked, trying _not_ to think about implications.  
    He laughed as he considered me. "It's not like that."  
    "Uhhuh," I muttered, not sure if I actually cared enough to press the point or not. The mental images I was coming up were _far_ too disturbing; better to let it go. "What are _you_ doing here? We're not that far from my house, your place is across town."  
    "I moved," he corrected. "And Gable wants..." he hesitated and shook his head. "I noted that my shirts come from here, so he wants me to sell him on them."  
    "Sell him on them?" I repeated.  
    "He actually wants me to convince him that the cheap packs here are better than the nice ones he orders from the haberdashery."  
    "Are they?" I asked blankly.  
    "No," Brian laughed, rolling his eyes. "That's the problem. I'm trying to explain to him cost effectiveness, and he gave me a wad of cash."  
    I laughed at that, tilting my head at him. "To be fair, I'd probably do the same thing."  
    "So admit you're stalking me," he suggested, heading back for the end-cap.  
    "Didn't we just discuss how that's _not_ what I'm doing?" I asked curiously, following. "Because I really did just stop in to get these," I showed him the package.  
    He looked at it, then up at me with a frown.  
    "Mine get ripped," I supplied.  
    He rolled his eyes so hard I was almost certain it had to hurt.  
    I started laughing, a real laugh, for the first time in ages. It felt good to do it. I looked around briefly as one of the workers came up to us, calming slightly.  
    "The store is closing in ten minutes," he noted happily. "Please make your final selections."  
    "Don't," Brian ordered me.  
    I snickered hard, stepping back from them both. I'd been about to make the fellow uncomfortable, and the fact that Brian was so casual with the order...  
    The employee looked between us.  
    "Okay fine," Brian sighed, using his phone to take a picture of the back of the package.  
    He'd been talking to the employee, conceding that it was time for us to leave, but I decided to misunderstand him. I made sure I was far enough away that the worst he'd feel was the cold, and turned on the charm.  
    It was great.  
    Not only had Brian immediately started chiding me, but the poor buck reacted in a way that made me realize he wasn't naturally averse to my attentions. He'd been muttering something to me about when he got off work, what time it was...while Brian railed against me. The employee had whispered something about sneaking away as Brian pushed and shoved me down the aisle.  
    It was good to laugh.  
    I followed the former bartender through the store as I continued doing so, and teased him about being jealous as he considered a display of leather jackets. He'd never really been that casual with me, so it was nice to goad him a little without that flicker of fear. I was probably overdoing it a little, but I felt almost desperate and had no idea what to do about it.  
    An older buck swept up behind us and informed us the store was closing, so Brian grabbed a jacket and we allowed ourselves to be ushered to the final cash register.  
    Brian set the jacket down with my shirts. I indicated the drink cooler to him, and he came back with a couple twenty ounces. It only took a moment to finish the transaction, and as I accepted the receipt, I realized that I'd just bought him a jacket.  
    Brian beamed at me.  
    We moved out into the night, stopping on the sidewalk as we looked the nearly empty lot over.  
    "So...what are you doing tonight?" I asked hesitantly.  
    "Getting picked up by a vampire, evidently," he gave me an arch look.  
    I laughed at that, moving to a more intimate distance as I studied his eyes...and the whole game stopped when I saw the flicker of fear.  
    He looked away.  
    "Sorry," I muttered, deflating as I passed him the jacket. "I'm...I didn't mean anything."  
    "What were you doing?" he asked as he hugged the thing to his chest.  
    "Teasing," I retorted. "I always...teased you," I shook my head, starting for the car. "Night."  
    "Josh," he muttered, stepping after me.  
    I turned back to him without looking at him.  
    "Let's go get something to eat," he said, pointing across the huge lot to one of those twenty-four-hour breakfast places.  
    I hesitated, then nodded my consent.  
  
  
***Brian**  
    It was strange to follow Josh into the restaurant. I wasn't entirely convinced that he hadn't been trying to track me down, though this was fairly close to his family manor. He seemed...different than before, too.  
    ...I'd only actually started talking to him _after_ he'd been with Ella.  
    I blinked as I realized that, following him and the flirty waitress toward a booth on one side.  
    I'd met him and started doing odd jobs for him while I was a bartender, but that entire time had been laced with his innuendos. For years, he'd built up this image of a dark and cruel god, and I'd heard more stories of him torturing males than I could count; he'd protected me from the others, though, and the key to surviving the shark tank was to keep from _bleeding_ in it. At the club, he'd been a terrifying _force_ who'd liked me, and as scary as that had been, I'd been able to make extra money for it.  
    That had been followed by Ryan showing up, which had changed him...and then Ethan. I'd realized the difference between his image and his personality, then, and we'd started to become friends.  
    The waitress left a small insulated coffee pot with us and promised to come back for our orders.  
    "Why...are we doing this?" he asked me as he watched her walk off.  
    "I don't really know," I sighed, spooning sugar into my cup without looking at him. "I mean...you blocked me out hard."  
    "So why are you willing to try?" he persisted.  
    "Because there was a time when I thought we were going to be friends," I met his eyes finally. "Truly friends."  
    He looked away, his expression going sad again.  
    He looked tired. I wasn't sure if it was his demon or his metabolism or what, but I doubted he was physically capable of having rings under his eyes...but they were still sort of there. He always looked good, it was stupid and I honestly hated his demon, but he'd seemed like he was alright when he'd first started talking to me...but he did look tired.  
    He ran a hand through his hair before meeting my eyes again, the spark of amusement back.  
    "I am not checking you out," I informed him, wanting to kick him under the table. He laughed, and I saw the life come back to his eyes.  
    ...he was lonely, wasn't he? That realization was as profound as this conversation needed to _get_.  
    I tilted my head at him. "Can I ask you something?"  
    He shrugged his consent.  
    "Why the _hell_ did you bring another woman to talk to L?"  
    He _focused_ on me.  
    "She was _furious_ ," I smiled slightly at him.  
    "It was my cousin's lover," he shrugged, deflating slightly. "I wanted to see if she could help us work things out," he looked out the window.  
    "As in...threesome?" I asked, frowning a him.  
    He laughed again, a short bark of amusement. "That is _not_ what I meant."  
    I snorted, stirring my cup some more as I considered what had happened. "Your cousin," I said quietly. "He...he came to Gable's after the gala. He...told me not to tell them what she'd said."  
    "I don't think they expected you to turn her down out of hand," he smiled a bit. "I think your outright refusal sort of sent them for a loop."  
    "He used his power on me," I stated, staring at my cup.  
    Josh froze for a moment, then made an unhappy noise and rubbed at his face. "I'm sorry."  
    "You didn't know?" I looked up at him briefly, studying his eyes.  
    He shook his head, and I could see a glint of anger there. He was mostly avoiding looking at me, but I saw a flash of silver cross those eyes as he tapped his nails on the tabletop.  
    "Josh?" I asked.  
    He looked back to me, all of that replaced with concern. "Are you okay?"  
    I indicated his eyes, then rolled the sleeves of my sweater down one. "I saw it," I explained, shifting how I sat. "The silver."  
    Something dark crossed his eyes as he looked away from me, then he rolled them and gave me a level look. "I don't feed on males, at some point you'll remember that."  
    "And at that point I'll have forgotten a couple _years_ ," I retorted.  
    A wicked amusement flashed across his face before he gave me a contrite look. "Sorry," he muttered, starting to sip at the cup.  
    I snorted at him, relaxing back and looking the place over. It was brightly lit, and there were a number of people around.  
    "Nothing worked out for me," he noted as he started messing with a spoon. "I don't know if you noticed or anything...but I had to actually fight my cousins, which is thug behavior. It's ridiculous and below me, but I did it with both of them. I...got to be with L...once. Our entire lives, and I was with her _once_."  
    I blinked, focusing on him.  
    "She ever tell you we've known each other since we were about twelve?" he glanced up to meet my eyes. "She was my mainstay for years, the only way I was able to cope with what had happened to me. She was the shoulder I cried on, the one person who could make everything actually okay again." He hesitated. "Has she told you anything?"  
    "She doesn't talk about you," I shrugged, studying his eyes. "She was pissed about you bringing some other woman to talk to her...she said I shouldn't bring up Ryan to you ever...and..."  
    His eyes flashed as he looked away.  
    "Sorry," I muttered.  
    "She never told you my secrets?" he asked, meeting my eyes.  
    "You have some?" I asked blankly, realizing that...there was something big. Something neither of them ever talked about.  
    "I have...a few," he noted, raising both eyebrows at me.  
    "I don't want to know," I said quickly, making a reassuring gesture at him. "I just..."  
    "She helped me keep it together," he muttered, looking back to the window. "She dealt with me through thick and thin...and even though all she had to do was get off with someone else..."  
    "Stop pretending you don't understand her take on it," I ordered him. "I can't even imagine what it must feel like, because you did love her...I don't have the right frame of reference for that at all. But...don't just put this all off on her when you know none of it was that simple."  
    He gave me a look, then shrugged and flopped back where he sat. "From my perspective, it is that simple. I survive...and I _enjoy_ it."  
    I frowned at him, focusing on his eyes again. The emphasis had contained some of that vocal silk, that unnerving...whatever.  
    He studied me with glittering eyes a moment, then looked away. "She and Ryan together?"  
    "As much as you can call it that," I tilted my head at him. "I mean, they're still doing the long distance talking thing...he'll randomly show up at her apartment for a weekend and disappear again, and she's gone to visit him once."  
    His eyes were sad, but he was staring out the window at the traffic on the road.  
    "He asks me about you," I noted quietly. "For a while he wanted to fight you, but..."  
    "I've been doing better," he noted, meeting my eyes. "Just lonely."  
    "You've had my number," I pointed out.  
    "With how scared you are of me?" he demanded.  
    "I'm only scared of you when you're coming at me, asshole," I pointed out, glowering at him. "When I can feel it."  
    He considered that, focusing on my sweater as he tilted his head. "And that will burn me? Will you?"  
    I _glared_ at him.  
    He smirked at me, his eyes dancing.  
    "Why don't you try it," I challenged, keeping my voice even.  
    He laughed, his eyes sparkling again.  
    "Do you know about that stuff?" I hazarded, deciding to move on. "At the gala I saw your cousin...he terrified me. Having to deal with him shook me up, and one of my coworkers texted L about it. Ryan gave me this," I plucked at the sweater. "It burned your cousin's hand."  
    He blinked at that, extending his own hand curiously.  
    I extended my wrist, not entirely sure I wanted to trust him...but it wasn't a fear reaction. It was the way he'd happily been an ass at me.  
    He hissed, yanking his hand away from the sleeve as he stared at his fingers and looked to me. He studied my eyes, then grabbed my hand...and stared at me.  
    I yanked away from him, making a face and wiping the hand on my slacks.  
    "Do you...need a minute?" the waitress asked, flashing me a slightly naughty grin as she stopped at the end of our table.  
    "No," I stated.  
    Josh's eyes sparkled as he considered me, then he turned to order.  
* *  
    It didn't take us too long to eat, and the waitress seemed to be trying to give us space. There certainly weren't more people seated around us as the night went on, and that was the point where I'd hurried up to eat.  
    Josh thought it was funny that the woman had come over to see him holding my hand. She'd definitely seen it, and she seemed to be trying to communicate something to me with body language that was just beyond my comprehension.  
    Josh followed me from the building, and was far too close. He caught me by the pocket of my jeans when we'd reached a spot where no one inside could see us, and even though I was trying to shove him off, wouldn't let go. He only did so when I turned to hug him with the damn love-sweater.  
    Evidently, that was the funniest thing I could ever have done, and I hurried away from him...and realized what that _had_ to look like inside.  
    I glowered at him as we stopped in front of our cars.  
    "Can I...call you?" he asked, his voice pitched to carry across the lot while still seeming intimate.  
    "No," I retorted.  
    He laughed, then sobered and frowned at me. "Joking aside."  
    I sighed and nodded. "As long as you stop trying to convince everyone we're lovers."  
    "I can't help what people decide to believe," he informed me almost primly.  
    I _glared_ at him.  
    He smiled at me, but the amusement faded away as he looked around. He drummed his hand against his thigh a bit, looking remarkably awkward.  
    I sighed, gesturing at his car. "I'm going home. Follow me or don't."  
    A female voice burst into hard giggles from around the building, and a door shut. Evidently our waitress had taken a break to eavesdrop, and we weren't all that far from the back entrance of the building.  
    Josh laughed wickedly, moving toward his car. "It's too easy."  
    "Don't follow me," I ordered him in exasperation, climbing into my car. I knew he was going to, and I almost wished that telling L wouldn't result in a scene. I could tell Ryan, but I'd have to call him...after Josh left. That or see if he was near Maddy.  
    I pulled my phone out and texted her as we moved across the lot. She returned a negative, and I promised to explain it later...and focused on driving.  
    ...I was taking Joshua Rossi to my house. It was late on a Friday night, no one else knew I was with him, and there was a chance that he'd hunted me down...and I was taking him home with me.  
    I pulled up a text to Hoc as we hit a stoplight, typing the message out to him quickly. I explained that I wasn't a hundred percent on what the vampire was trying to accomplish, and he told me that the sex would be amazing.  
    He seemed to think he was funny.  
    I ignored that, tossing the phone into the passenger seat as we started driving again...and wondered if maybe I shouldn't be trusting Josh. Only time would tell, and Hoc would definitely tell at least Arkady, and everyone would probably decide my relationship with the stupid vampire had gone carnal.  
    I needed to get a damn girlfriend, that would stop their yammering...but unfortunately, I hadn't gotten around to going out like that yet. I needed to start, I had afternoons and weekends free. I could find someone...or get Josh to find me someone. He'd probably do it.  
    I just needed to figure out what he was actually doing following me home.  
  
  
***Josh**  
    I woke up and stared at the ceiling a long time before deciding that no, I did not recognize the room I was in. I maintained my even breathing as I tried to place the scent, then turned my head...to see Brian curled against the wall.  
    I sat up, staring at him in disbelief before the night's events came back to me.  
    His phone was buzzing.  
    "Bry," I muttered, shaking his arm. "Brian."  
    He jumped hard as well, staring at _me_ in horror, then turned to dig his phone out of the blankets around him. He made the buzzing stop as he stared at me, then looked around the room as well.  
    "Oh shut up," I ordered, flopping back. "We didn't drink _that_ much."  
    He snickered as his phone started buzzing again. He raised it to his ear, an annoyed look on his face. "Hello?"  
    I heard someone asking if he'd had a good night in a far too amused tone.  
    I leaned over so my mouth was near the microphone. "I'm gonna get dressed."  
    The voice fell silent as Brian lunged at me. I started laughing hard as I fell out of the bed, and I continued laughing as I lay there.  
    "No!" Brian complained. "We caught up and crashed...he's an idiot."  
    I laughed more, pushing up to watch the flickers of annoyance on his face. He argued with whoever it was for a while, then ended the call...and threw his phone at me.  
    I laughed even harder as I caught it and turned it to consider his call-log. Hoc. I had no idea who that was, which made the game less fun, but the log showed...Maddy?  
    I raised my eyes to look at him.  
    "Give me that," he complained, leaning over to yank the phone back from me as he started climbing out of the bed. He was grumbling to himself as he disappeared from the room into the bathroom, and I grinned as I moved to check out his kitchen.  
    I was going to have to make that up to him...or not. I'd bought him a coat.  
    I smirked as I considered the items in his fridge, and wondered if maybe I could stay here a few days. I'd have to mollify him, though, and not mislead his coworkers anymore...or waitresses.  
    I grinned as he moved from the bathroom.  
    "Why are you still here?" he asked dryly.  
    "Morning delight."  
    He _huffed_ at me.  
    I laughed, then frowned at him and shrugged. "I didn't think you'd mind."  
    "I figured you'd take off before I got up," he noted dryly as he set the phone down on the counter and turned toward the front door. "I don't understand what you're doing here."  
    "You're going to make me admit that I missed you?" I demanded, stopping to stare at him. "You remember the whole bit where we're both guys, right?"  
    He snorted out a laugh at that as he carried a newspaper in from the porch and kicked the door shut. "I've been worried about you," he noted.  
    "And your response to that is to demand why I'm still here?" I asked blankly.  
    "I'm pretty sure I told you to crash on the couch," he noted, indicating the blankets he'd put out for me.  
    "You have a memory foam, and you didn't even wake up," I argued back. "We didn't cuddle or anything and you don't have to tell anyone."  
    "Except _Hoc_ ," he pointed out.  
    I smirked, realizing I had done that to him. I started laughing as I dug through his cupboards to find the pans. "I'll make you breakfast," I offered.  
    "If you spit in my eggs, I will get Ryan over here to beat you down," he stated.  
    "I wouldn't spit," I promised, grinning wickedly. "A little blood, maybe, but..."  
    He gave me a disgusted look.  
    I grinned at him, and turned to dig out the bacon.  
    "Let me get the news going and I'll start coffee," he added, moving over to flick the television on.  
    "Why?" I asked blankly.  
    He gave me a blank look as he started fussing with his coffee pot. "What do you mean, why?"  
* *  
    It took me a while to realize that he wasn't doing anything for the day, and after a while he frowned at me.  
    "Leave?" I asked with a slight sigh. I hadn't wanted to intrude on him, but I liked the idea of going home even less.  
    "What?" he asked blankly. "Are you going to? I guess that ends my dilemma."  
    I blinked at him. "What?"  
    "Oh my god, if you ask me 'what' one more time, I'm going to smite you."  
    I started laughing again, shifting how I sat. "Explain to me what you mean."  
    He rolled his eyes, though he looked amused. "I want to play a game, but I only have one controller. I never heard if you even know how to play, or if you want to...or how long you're staying. For all that we've talked for hours, we're failing at communication. It makes me wonder how much of what you've said I understand."  
    I laughed at that, then pursed my lips slightly as I realized something.  
    I could feed on him. We'd reestablished the bond while talking the night before.  
    "What?" he asked, considering me.  
    "I'm glad we're a few feet apart," I supplied, rising and stretching. "I want to feed."  
    The _look_ on his face was hilarious.  
    I started laughing.  
    He was, however, checking for exits and probably weapons, just glancing around the apartment.  
    I moved away from him to soothe the alarm there, heading for the island and my car keys. "I can feed on you, remember? Can I come back tonight? Can I stay a few nights?"  
    "If you sleep on the couch like a guest should," he retorted. His tone was almost petulant, but I could see amusement in his eyes. "I don't work again until Monday unless something comes up...which includes you deciding to feed on me."  
    I nodded, looking the place over as I waved the warning away. "You need anything? I can do the money thing."  
    "Aside from a second controller and any other game you might want to play, I think we're set."  
    I grinned at that, nodding. "I'm gonna hit Secrets or something and feed."  
    "Already?" he asked blankly. "You said you fed on your date yesterday."  
    "I've been maintaining the tank," I noted dryly as I pulled the door open. "About once a day. If you're willing to let me feed, I can stay, but that's not a rabbit hole either of us are interested in."  
    He snorted at me.  
    I laughed, sliding out the door. "I'll text you when I'm on my way back...I mean, I might get sidetracked, too. I can sleep here? Even if we don't play today?"  
    He _sighed_ at me.  
    I started laughing, moving out into the day's heat. I was glad we could banter, but if I did one wrong thing we'd be done. If he saw my eyes change, I said the wrong thing, or if I managed to move in a way that would scare him, he'd be done trying. I had to keep a balance here until things were less uncertain.  
    So, I wanted to hit the house for my good shower things, I needed to find a doe—so I may as well find Jessica or Amy—and clothes. I needed to do that first-off because I was fairly certain Andon was going to put a tail on me, and this time, I didn't have the wizard to keep my friend safe.  
  
  
***Brian**  
    The day was quiet, aside from idiot coworkers. I was being teased by Hoc, and decided that smacking Josh would probably be the best thing ever when I saw him again. Just wham, bruise on the arm. He wouldn't feel it for long.  
    "Hello?" I answered Arkady's call with resignation.  
    "Hello," he returned happily. "Hoc was just giggling at me that you found a boyfriend, insisting that you had a vampire night...so I wanted to call and make sure you were actually okay."  
    "Does he actually believe that?" I asked with a sigh.  
    "He's torn," Arkady supplied. "Are you okay? I know the vampires scare you."  
    "I'm fine," I reassured him. "It was just Josh; I ran into him last night at the store, so we ate and he came over to catch up. He was waking me up this morning because my phone was ringing, then leaned forward and told the phone he was getting dressed."  
    Arkady's genuine laugh was deep, and I realized that he understood the joke. "You still in for the training today or are you too sore to do it?"  
    "Arkady!" I protested, making him laugh more and realizing that them all knowing that sex hadn't happened meant that it was fair game for teasing. I huffed, realizing that there'd be no end to the jibes for most of the day...but my self-defense was important. "Alright," I said after a moment. "I'll change and come over."  
    "Alright," he said brightly. "Be sure to make-up any marks."  
    I made a disgusted noise as I ended the call and stood. I pulled up a message to the stupid vampire as I headed for the room, explaining to him that I was going to be out for a few hours. He didn't respond right away, but considering that he'd left to feed...  
    He could still feed off of me? That had only started because of Ethan...which was the reason I was learning self-defense. The notion that months had gone by without me seeing Josh and he could still feed on me...  
    The phone rang again.  
    "Hello?" I muttered as I climbed into the car and started the engine, blaring the air conditioning.  
    "What was that?" Josh's was breathing a little fast. "Sorry, it didn't make sense to read it."  
    I wondered why he hadn't put off responding until he was free and rolled my eyes. "I said I'm taking self-defense lessons and my teacher is free right now. We'll be an hour or two."  
    "Alright," he muttered distantly. "Two hours...message me when you're done."  
    "Yeah," I agreed dryly.  
    "Call me if you have any questions," he noted distantly...and hung up.  
    _What?_  
    I stared at the phone a long moment, then rolled my eyes. I had a feeling that no sense was going to be made by him until he was done doing whatever he was doing. I was going to ask him about that, though.  
  
  
***Josh**  
    I packed my things into a duffel bag quickly, listening intently. I'd jumped onto my balcony from the yard, avoiding the windows and things. The family security would come check on me, but it wasn't like they would rat me out. Brian had texted me mid-jump, and I'd taken a moment to be sure my room was mostly empty before entering it and calling him back. I didn't want to be too long here. Someone was laying on my bed, and I realized after a moment that it was Amy.  
    Good, make this faster.  
    "What are you doing?" Amy asked languidly as she rolled over to kick her feet in the air. "Are we playing a game? Should I scream and fight?"  
    "I'm avoiding the family," I supplied, smirking at her. "We can play a game later, for now I just want to shower and get out before they notice."  
    "You don't appreciate me," she pouted cutely.  
    "Of course I do," I protested by rote, leaning over to kiss her and mutter the reassurances she wanted to hear.  
    All the suites had soundproofing between them, so no one around us or in the hall would really hear unless she started to actually scream. She wanted to, but I didn't want to chance Andon coming to see me or anything. We showered together, and she was put-out with me since I really wasn't taking any time. I left her to dry herself off, moving to pack a bag and get ready. I blinked as there was a tap on the door.  
    Amy went to answer it, wrapped in a towel. "Yes?"  
    "Is the young master in?" the guard Nick asked.  
    "He's busy," she said happily.  
    The man moved around her, his eyes all over my room before he saw me changing my earring at the bathroom counter and stopped.  
    "I'm trying not to be noticed," I supplied.  
    "You should park in the employee area," he noted dryly, raising an eyebrow at me as Amy moved around to try and tempt me. She liked the idea of being watched, and honestly, Nick probably wouldn't mind watching.  
    "How many people did you tell I was here?" I demanded, ignoring her. "If I come over the fence, why would you think I wanted attention?" I took the toiletries bag out and tucked it in the duffel.  
    "I didn't say anything," he sighed at me as Amy started doing something at the counter. He was avoiding looking at her. "We just had to make sure it was really you. Next time wave at a camera or something."  
    I rolled my eyes at him, shouldering the bag...and focusing beyond him on Joey. Nick had left my door open, and that was Ethan's buck.  
    "Josh!" Joey said, stepping into the room and hesitating.  
    "Don't tell me Ethan showed up," I groaned.  
    "We've been here an hour," Joey agreed, moving a little closer to me as he studied my face. "He wants to talk with you."  
    "My calendar is full," I noted, turning toward the balcony. "I can get an appointment with him sometime next month."  
    Joey snorted, hesitating. "If I found a way to stay here, do you think you could find me something to do?"  
    That question made my heart want to stop, and I turned to consider him and what that most likely meant. He had a bruise or hickey on his throat, and it was large. There were dark rings under his eyes, and he looked thinner than before.  
    "Yeah," I agreed, realizing that I could call Ryan in. If Ethan were here, Ryan would definitely be interested in coming.  
    Joey smiled slightly at me, looking away.  
    "I'm busy for a few hours," I noted, moving across the room to close the bathroom door since Amy was definitely putting on a show for Nick.  
    Nick jerked back a step, looking at me then turned and slid out of the room.  
    Joey blinked after him.  
    "You okay?" I asked, frowning slightly.  
    He nodded, looking down. "It's...it hasn't been good since the last time we were here."  
    I nodded at him, rubbing at my mouth as I considered things. "Don't tell him you saw me," I ordered. "If you can arrange to be out front in about two hours, I'll swing up and get you. Bring your bags or whatever you want, but maybe leave your electronics."  
    "I can't do that," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. It shifted the collar of his shirt so more of the bruise, that _was_ a bruise, on his throat became evident. "If I leave things behind he'll notice."  
    "I'll get you, then," I headed for the balcony again. "We can eat or something and you can tell me what's going on."  
    "He's..." he hesitated, looking away. "If I'm gone more than an hour or two he'll notice."  
    "We'll talk," I reassured him, gesturing him for the door. "Go."  
    He nodded, watching as I slid out of the house again. I assumed he'd leave after he realized what I was doing...but this added a complication. Brian wasn't going to want Joey around, because Brian was going to panic when he realized Ethan was in town.  
    Well, I needed to get to him first and see what he was willing to deal with. If Joey hadn't looked so defeated, I'd have assumed there was a lie—I'd have to be careful with him, because he could easily be doing something for Ethan, moving against me.  
    I considered what to do as I hopped back down to the ground and headed along the building. It only took me a minute to be at the fence again, and I hopped onto it, looking around to the nearest camera and raising my middle finger to it before dropping on the outside. I headed back to my car and reversed quickly. I hit the button to call Brian back, hoping he wouldn't be too upset.  
    "Ya done?" he asked dryly.  
    Done?  
    "Uh, complication," I supplied. "I think we need to be in person, can I meet you?"  
    "What sort of complication?" he asked blankly. "Uh, we're at Gable's."  
    "We?" I asked, frowning. "And I can come there? I mean, I don't want to greet him or anything."  
    "He's sleeping right now anyway," he reassured me. "I'll call security and tell them you're coming to see me—you don't have any weapons, do you?"  
    "Only my amazing sex," I noted dryly. "Mention that when they talk about patting me down."  
    He laughed wickedly. "You're such an asshole."  
    I laughed, actually buckling as I hit a stop sign. "So...I'm about twenty minutes out."  
    "Alright, I'll let them know."  
  
  
***Ryan**  
    I jumped hard when the phone rang, rolling onto my side to stare at it a moment before lifting it and making an unhappy noise. "What?"  
    "Ryan?" a slightly unfamiliar voice asked.  
    I blinked, thinking about it. "Who is this?"  
    "Josh."  
    I woke up entirely, forgetting the aches of my still-healing body. "Josh? What's going on? Are you okay? L?" I shoved myself up as my ribs throbbed.  
    "Uh...yes," he hesitated. "I don't talk to L anymore."  
    There was an awkward pause.  
    "Sorry," I said quietly. "Um...what is wrong?"  
    "I'm not sure anything is," he noted. "I...I'm meeting with Brian and...well, Ethan's back in town."  
    My knuckles throbbed as I shifted how I sat. "How did you get my number?"  
    "I'm an amazing hacker," he retorted. "I did this thing where I took Brian's phone and stole it all."  
    ...I was pretty sure that wasn't considered hacking, but Josh was more up on that sort of phrasing than me, Kevin, and Collin combined.  
    He laughed quietly. "I looked you up. I have your address, and job address, and p.o. box, and everything. It's uber creepy and you can't do shit about it—let's rewind this conversation a bit. Ethan."  
    I started laughing in spite of myself. "Don't make me laugh, bastard," I muttered, rubbing at my side. "Gods, I hate you some days."  
    He laughed again, then made an uncertain noise. "I'm not sure exactly what's happening yet. Andon showed up a few days ago and I've been avoiding the house. I came across Brian last night at the store, and am planning to crash at his house for the weekend...maybe."  
    "Okay?" I asked quietly. "Was that uber creepy, too?"  
    "Which part?"  
    "Coming across Brian."  
    "Oh, no," he laughed. "I was avoiding the house and he was there for reasons I can't fathom that include a haberdashery, a-shirts, and a leather jacket."  
    ...What?  
    I groaned, trying not to start laughing.  
    "What's wrong with you?" he asked blankly.  
    "I crossed a river spirit," I supplied.  
    He hesitated. "...what?"  
    I groaned in pain as I tried to laugh harder, flopping back onto my mattress. "I got called out to find this little wild girl near the Oregon border. All I had to go on were local stories, so I wandered around a frickin' rain forest...found one of the rivers up there and saw her playing. I went to get her...and realized she was a damn yokai."  
    "Isn't that a Japanese word?" he asked blankly.  
    "Yep," I agreed dryly. "Some little old woman got some little old mask with a seal on it, and some stupid kids stole it and were at the river when they broke the seal. It was a river creature. It's been living there since, but it shows up as a little seven or eight-year-old Asian girl. She looked a bit bedraggled, so I was just going to get her home...before she attacked me."  
    He made an amused noise.  
    "Oh no," I noted pointedly, almost hearing the thoughts about being beaten up by a child. "As soon as I got close, she shifted into something of a snake. She got me in the damn river, but it wasn't that deep. I sealed it back up in the mask; shipped it to a heritage museum. Little bitch can sit in a dark dry box before being hung up and gawked at."  
    "That's a bit more vindictive than I expected," he muttered. "But, uh...you remember Joey?"  
    "That kid you terrified because everyone thinks you're a monster?" I asked blankly.  
    "Oh, thank you for that," he noted a bit acidly. "I needed to hear that."  
    I laughed quietly, rubbing at my side. "Yeah, that sounded more dick than I meant...but I'm not taking it back."  
    He made a noise. "Yeah, well, maybe I'll just leave him with Ethan."  
    "What?" I asked, focusing.  
    "You heard me," he pointed out. "I mean, he came and asked if I can keep him here when Ethan leaves, I'll just tell him no; no reason to, huh? I'm just a monster."  
    I considered that a long moment, then sighed. "Right. Sorry. You asking for a retrieval?"  
    "I'm not sure yet," he sighed. "Hold on."  
    I tilted my head as he spoke to someone on his end.  
    "I'm at Bui's," he sighed. "I need to run this all by Brian. He's probably going to be upset that Ethan's back in town, and I'm pissed because you all are gonna think I did it on purpose."  
    "What?" I asked, following the line of logic and making a noise. He'd found Brian for the first time in about a year. Sure, he'd talked to us all at the Mayday ball, but he hadn't sought us. But he'd contacted Brian, and Ethan shows up with Joey asking for help. It could be a con...and him pointing it out didn't mean it wasn't one.  
    "Yeah, I can hear you thinking," he noted irritably, and I heard a seatbelt unclip. "If Brian says he won't deal with this then I'll just get Joey and go. I can poach him, at this point I'm going to have to pull off some shit to get mine back, anyway."  
    I sighed, rubbing at my face. "Right. I'll get Kev. Brian will call me, so we can figure it out from there."  
    He hesitated. "Your sweater," he noted quietly.  
    "It's great, right?" I retorted. "Did he hug you with it?"  
    He laughed wickedly. "No...though he might start wearing it to bed."  
    "See, that's not really funny," I pointed out. "Because his fear of you bastards is genuine."  
    He laughed again. "Amusingly, I didn't actually mean it in reference to myself. Ethan is _here_ , Ryan. _Ethan_ is here."  
    I rubbed a hand at my mouth as I considered that. I wasn't really up for a good old fashioned beat-down, but...  
    "Brian will call you," he noted, and ended the call.  
    I hung the phone up, then climbed tiredly from the bed and moved to pack up a bag of tricks. It was slow going, I couldn't move fast, and before I finished, Kevin appeared in the door with is arms crossed.  
    "Where do you think you're going?" he asked curiously.  
    "Vegas."  
    "You can get laid in a week," he pointed out.  
    I laughed at that, then groaned again and leaned against the wall. "Not the point of the expedition."  
    "I really don't believe you," he noted happily.  
    "That call?"  
    He nodded.  
    "Josh."  
    His eyes narrowed.  
    "Yep," I agreed. "Whatever his game might be, it boils down to Ethan being there and that kid Joey asking if Josh will keep him."  
    "Wait," Kevin stepped at me. "You're not serious."  
    "That is the extent of my knowledge," I shrugged. "Brian will call back soon, I'm sure. Wanna come?"  
    I saw his eyes flash, and he turned back toward his room.  
    I went back to my...stupidly slow packing.  



	2. Chapter 2

#### Chapter Two

 ***Josh**  
    I'd made better decisions.  
    I swore as Arkady took me to the mat again, trying to scramble away from him. His eyes were bright with malice, and I couldn't take the pain anymore. The spots he was touching _burned_ , but I finally threw him off.  
    Brian tripped and fell over something, falling away from me with a slight noise.  
    Damn it.  
    Arkady's attention split between us both instantly.  
    I inhaled and closed my eyes, focusing on my control. Thomas had shown me a few tricks to help with that. This was training, and I was going to have to feed again after this...how pathetic was that?  
    "You trust him, don't you?" Arkady asked blankly, rising and stretching from where he'd fallen. He looked no more disturbed than he had from anything else I'd done, and...I had made better decisions.  
    "I can't help it," Brian muttered, accepting his hand up. "I feel that cold and everything sort of freezes with it. I see the silver and stop thinking."  
    I frowned, rising slowly as I studied him. He wasn't quite looking at me.  
    "I think I might borrow you," Arkady noted, looking me over thoughtfully. "Fight or flight is well and good as long as it's not panicked prey flight."  
    "If I get away, what's the problem?" Brian retorted.  
    "You wouldn't have gotten away," I pointed out as I looked the room over. "You wouldn't have made it to the door," I indicated the thing across the room. I shifted my stance as I imagined the run he'd have made...the urge to hunt. It was a wild uncontrolled sensation that I loved, and I jumped like I'd have been chasing him, turning to look between he and Arkady.  
    Ah, that wiped the smirk off the guard's face.  
    I suppressed myself again, taking a long slow breath as Brian _stared_ at me.  
    I'd cleared the entire room with one jump...it was more a leap, just enough effort to meet the ends.  
    "You don't want to panic in an enclosed space," I added to Brian, moving back to them and carefully controlling my body language. I didn't have any hand-to-hand training, and while I could fight in a clumsy instinctive way, Arkady had been busily proving to me for an hour that he could take me down. "And what do you mean, you want to borrow me?"  
    "You're the only vampire I know who doesn't run or attack me on sight," Arkady explained with a shrug. "I think we need to expose him."  
    I stopped, looking to him as Brian focused as well.  
    "If you feed," Arkady supplied, "you'll be in control of yourself. You can..."  
    "No way in _hell_ ," I stated as my stomach churned. I could already sense Brian's anxiety at the thought.  
    "No," Arkady gestured between us. "You don't touch him or anything, you don't get close. You stand there and call on your power and..."  
    "You are aware that I'll lose it, right?" I demanded, putting my hands on my hips. "I can feed off of him."  
    Arkady's eyebrows arched.  
    "Not sex," I complained, rolling my eyes and rubbing at my face. "It's intimacy, and there are about a thousand ways to incite it...and do you _know_ what happened to him with Ethan?"  
    "Yes," Arkady sighed, looking tired for the first time all lesson. "And the fact that you want to protect him will help. It'll be a control exercise for you and exposure for him...or do you want him locking up when one of your cousins come at him again?"  
    Brian crossed his arms over his chest, looking around to me a bit nervously.  
    "Obviously we'll keep it to ourselves," Arkady added, looking me over. "You don't have to tell anyone why you're here...that you _are_ here. You know I can back you off if you snap."  
    I hesitated, trying to think of any other reason to avoid it.  
    "What?" he asked. "You're friends and I don't judge. What are you thinking?"  
    "I don't want to scare him," I said seriously, meeting his eyes.  
    "He trusts..."  
    I shifted and lunged at Brian before Arkady could finish that annoying sentence, catching my friend around the waist. He cried out as he tried to jump away, then scrabbled at me for a heartbeat. He went limp, and I let him go as I saw him wiping tears away from his eyes and spinning from me.  
    "Oh," Arkady said, then sighed and rubbed at his face. "Why did you let him sleep at your house? You invited him over your threshold."  
    "He was _fine_ last night," Brian snapped, turning to look at me again. He was intently studying my eyes, and I looked away as I made sure I was in control again. "I...I've known him for years. He was always threatening to break me at Secrets."  
    Arkady looked to me, his eyebrows arched again.  
    "I realized a long time ago that my rivals won't just come at my throat if they're scared of what I'll do. Being a monster is _fun_."  
    The words gave him pause as he studied me.  
    I smiled wickedly at him, feeling a bit satisfied when he shifted himself into a ready stance. He knew full-well that he could stop me, and he still reacted.  
    Brian punched my arm.  
    I laughed, moving back from both of them and relaxing my body language again.  
    "Holy shit," Arkady stared at me. "Do that again."  
    I _focused_ on him.  
    He laughed a bit nervously, backing off. "How are you doing that?"  
    "I _am_ a predator," I pointed out dryly, looking around to see Brian giving me an exasperated sort of look. I smiled slightly at him, looking back to Arkady. "I actually picked it up from Ryan."  
    Brian blinked at me.  
    "The lad has some talents," Arkady conceded, thinking a moment. "But I've never seen him..."  
    "He intimidated the _hell_ out of me the first night we met," I grinned at the memory. "And I was tracking his body language...I mean, I could do it a little bit before, but I realized what muscles specifically to tense and hold," I rubbed at my abdomen.  
    Arkady's eyes flashed across my body, and I smirked at him.  
    "He wasn't checking you out, either," Brian noted, kicking at me.  
    I swatted casually back at him, and got kicked again. He was reasserting the comfort between us, so I played along a moment. Brian turned to swat at my middle, and as I tried to smack at his head, Arkady slammed into me hard. I huffed out a breath as I avoided _touching_ the asshole, backing away from him and Brian both.  
    "Hey," Brian protested, grabbing his arm and pulling him back from me by it. "What the hell, Kade?"  
    I saw the anger in his eyes and backed off a few more steps, looking back to Brian.  
    "Kade?" Brian repeated. "Arkady?"  
    "Touch," Arkady stated through clenched teeth as he stared me down. "When your wizard gets here, he needs to check if you've been influenced. Tell me truly, what happened last night?"  
    "Fuck you," I spat at him, frustrated as I turned toward the little gym's bathroom. I slammed the door behind myself and frowned at my reflection. My eyes were fine, I had no idea what his problem was. I washed my face, then huffed as I realized I needed to shower.  
    Did I do it here or go back to Brian's...back home? It'd been an hour and a half, I sort of needed to head back for Joey.  
    The door opened and Brian moved in to tilt his head at me.  
    "I don't do that to you," I informed him, stripping out of the sweaty clothes and heading for the showers against the wall.  
    "I know," Brian said. "I trust you that much...until it's in your eyes."  
    "Sorry," I sighed, turning on the water and flinching from the cold spray. "I have to go get Joey, so...what is the plan? I can get a suite again and work from that. You don't have to be part of it at all."  
    "You're right," he said, moving to strip as well. "I can't deal with Joey at my house. You will need some sort of other place, but I don't understand what you're planning to do."  
    "I'm just going to poach him," I shrugged as I focused on soaping up. "I can't really fall any further right now."  
    We took a few minutes to clean up, and I tolerated the horribly scratchy towels that were available to us. I took a moment to pull my jeans back on, then sighed as I picked up my dirty clothes and turned toward the trash.  
    "Honestly?" he demanded, yanking them from me. "We can put them with mine and wash them all."  
    "Whatever," I retorted, digging my keys out. "My stuff's in the trunk."  
    The door slammed open and Arkady glared pointedly at me.  
    "Christ, Arkady," Brian muttered. "Weren't you just asking him to help you?"  
    "I trusted him until I saw the mask," Arkady snapped.  
    "My entire life is a mask, buck," I retorted, heading for the door with my shoes in hand. "Spare me the drama."  
    Brian threw the clothes into his duffel before starting to get dressed, and I slid out of the little room and through the little gym to the little parking lot that was attached to the dragon's very _large_ house.  
    I smirked at the notion, moving to my trunk and throwing the shoes down to stand on. The day's heat was high, and my hair would be wet for maybe two more minutes. I popped the trunk digging out clean clothes before dropping my jeans.  
    One of the security people made a noise.  
    I laughed to myself as I slid into my boxers, then pulled a clean pair of jeans on and dug out my sandals. There was a mutter from the little pull-through, and I turned to wink at the man who was glaring at me with his hands on his hips as I pulled the wife-beater on properly.  
    Honestly, I'd been unclad for maybe fifteen seconds.  
    Brian moved from the gym with the duffel on his shoulder, looking me over with a raised eyebrow.  
    "You're not checking me out," I reminded him as I stepped into the sandals.  
    "I'm not," he bickered back, stopping next to me as he considered the jeans I was throwing into the trunk. "Did you just strip?"  
    "I have nothing to hide," I reassured him, smirking as I tossed my shoes into the trunk as well. "I need to go get Joey...any ideas for a hotel?"  
    "Gable's," Brian shrugged. "Ethan's been banned from all of Gable's establishments, so a fuss will be made fast."  
    I nodded, pocketing my keys and closing the trunk. "I was looking forward to being at your house."  
    "After grabbing me," he noted dryly, "I probably wouldn't be so comfortable with you on the couch right now."  
    I made a face at him, deflating.  
    "I think we should try it," he muttered, studying my face briefly before popping his own trunk. "With or without Arkady...you just proved to me that I'm fooling myself. I need to break this."  
    "Start with body language," I suggested, looking him over. "When I look at you, I shouldn't see food."  
    "On more than one level," he smirked at me as he tossed the duffel down.  
    "Absolute power corrupts absolutely," I retorted, leaning against my car as I considered him. "My darker nature leads me around by, what's Ry call it? The thinking stick?"  
    He _snorted_ at me.  
    I laughed. "I think we should talk to him about it. I only attacked him when there was no way for him to get away. He knows the body language things."  
    He frowned, looking around as he pulled a gatorade from a cooler. "I wonder if he's free...I mean..."  
    "I didn't tell you I called him?" I asked blankly, thinking back to the conversation we'd had. "I called him on my way over, because Ethan's presence means I have to watch my back, and that's a load easier to do when he's here to tend my pets."  
    Brian very casually pulled the sweater from Ryan out of one end of his duffel, looking up to me as he situated it to hold in one hand. "Want to try that one again?"  
    I laughed wickedly, leaning away from the thing.  
    He looked me over, then frowned at my shirt.  
    "You wanna taste?" I asked blankly, looking down to my chest as well.  
    "Idiot," he retorted. "It's black. Why is it black?"  
    "Don't ask me questions like that," I complained. "I want to intimidate you, and if I do it you'll burn me."  
    His eyes sparkled.  
    "You realize that my reactions haven't actually changed, right?" I asked brightly. "What would I have done if we were in Secrets?"  
    "But we're not in Secrets," he pointed out happily. "And I'm holding Rossi-bane."  
    I laughed at that, realizing that he really had relaxed. "Let me get Joey and get to the hotel," I muttered, looking around. "I mean...well," I hesitated. "I need to talk to him first. We'll go eat. I'll call you when I figure out what he actually wants to have happen here. Call Ryan but...I don't know if he needs to come."  
    "Joshy," Brian said quietly, looking the lot over. "Ethan is here."  
    "You can go to Ryan," I suggested. "He's hurt."  
    "What?" he focused on me.  
    "Something about a little eight-year-old Asian girl and getting his ass kicked," I supplied.  
    "It _was_ a yokai?" Brian frowned, rubbing at his face and starting away from me. "Go. I'll call him."  
    I blinked at that, watching as he set the phone to his ear. His body language had changed to business as we talked, and I realized with a bit of...not quite pride, that he'd come into at least part of his own.  
    I turned to climb into my car, noting that Arkady was standing in the shade of the building and watching me.  
    "What?" I asked, stopping as I opened the car door. Brian's car reversed as he talked on the phone, moving across the driveway without hesitation.  
    "Watch yourself," Arkady said seriously. "I don't only mean with Brian. Your cousin is not going to be thrilled at all that you're moving against him again. He might actually have something set up around that boy you're talking about."  
    I nodded, frowning a bit. "I want to keep Brian away from this; Bui's name gives him a shield. I can deal with Ethan."  
    "Can you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "You did a few years ago, sure, but you know damn well that he's been working himself out since."  
    "I'm still better than him," I noted. "My reputation in my house may have suffered, but I can take Ethan down. I _will_ take Ethan down."  
    "Pride goeth," he noted, turning back for the building. "Your ego could easily be the death of you."  
    I nodded, accepting the warning as I closed the car door. It wasn't pride or ego that made me believe that I was stronger than Ethan, though. It was the way I'd taken him down on the strip after he'd hunted L down, coupled with the fact that he went for Brian. He very well might have set Joey up to try and run from him. It didn't matter, whatever was going on here, I had to deal with it. Getting Brian to go to Ryan might be the better option. Or getting him to stay with Bui. Getting him protected was the first thing I needed to do, which also meant keeping in contact with him to be sure Ethan wasn't about to ambush him.  
    I rubbed at my face as I pulled onto the road, raising the phone to my ear.  
    "Hey, I was talking to Ry," Brian protested.  
    "Check in with me every half hour," I ordered. "Ethan might have got the jump on me, and I don't know the game yet."  
    "Alright," Brian made an unhappy noise.  
    "Maybe you should stay at Bui's," I suggested. "I'm sure he'd be fine with having you."  
    "Ry suggested I fly into LA," Brian returned easily. "I'll keep you updated. Nothing will happen on my end until Gable is up tonight."  
    "Right," I agreed, looking around. "Pretend you're being hunted and try hiding," I suggested.  
    "No," Brian said distantly. "I'm not prey. I need to call Ry back."  
  
  
***Brian**  
    The idea that Josh had purposefully come back into my life to bring Ethan around had crossed my mind, but only long enough for me to dismiss it. He'd been telling me about the things he'd been doing the night before, which included white-sand beaches...and probably a lot more drugs than he reported. His preternatural constitution seemed to help with things like addictions. He'd talked about being lonely some, but mostly it was the girls, the booze, and the locations. He'd noted that he'd found a place that he wanted to take friends to, and had changed the subject. I'd realized that he didn't really have any proper friends, at this point it seemed to mostly consist of me.  
    So, yes, it could all be an act. According to Gable and Ryan both, white-court vampires were psychic terrors. I'd had experiences of them altering my own mind, I actually had a damn bind on right now from that stupid Raith bastard. I wanted to smack Ryan for not remembering that he could undo it before he left...maybe Josh would undo it.  
    Did I want to...trust him with that, really? The situation upset me. If we'd had the entire visit without me seeing the silver in his eyes, I would have been content for him to sleep over again. However, the way he'd jumped in the gym...it was terrifying. I'd been amused that Arkady was taking him down left and right, I'd even figured he'd have to call on his strength to overcome the larger male...  
    Was that angst? Was I seriously angsting?  
    I smacked my head back against the headrest, glad that I hadn't talked that out with anyone.  
    Pulling away the layers of ennui and self-absorption, vampires are scary.  
    I shook my head as I pulled into my apartment, then sat back to consider the building and the cars around it. I waited a long moment as I watched the lot and categorized the vehicles. The entire complex was gated, and I'd set up Josh's car for open access, but I knew the kind of crap Josh could and would pull on anyone trying to show authority—the stupid employee at the store the night before was mild compared to some of the stunts he'd pulled.  
    I grabbed my phone, hitting redial.  
    "Something wrong?" Josh asked, his tone intent.  
    "No," I reassured him. "But I just got back to my apartment. I'm sitting here watching, but you said to check in every half hour or so."  
    "Alright," he let out a slight breath. "I'm pulling up to the house now. Joey's waiting in the shade and I see Ethan's car. That doesn't mean much, though."  
    "I'm going to nap," I noted. "I'll lock the house down...is there any vampire bane I can put out?"  
    "Your sweater," he noted in amusement. "But Ethan's here, so it'd be his thralls. They're kine."  
    "Am I kine?" I asked curiously, wondering slightly. He'd called me a buck when we were talking about stalking, but I figured that had been to make a point.  
    "I'm pretty sure you are," he noted in a mock serious tone. "Like, by definition."  
    "By definition I'm a cow?" I asked dryly.  
    He started laughing, and it was that same rough sound as before. "Hold on."  
    I tilted my head as I clicked my engine off, listening as he talked to someone. I heard his car rev up again.  
    "So," Josh was amused again. "I'm going to food. Go ahead and text me if you stay awake."  
    "Right," I muttered, climbing out of the car and frowning at my hand. "Also wash your nasty sweaty shit and scrub the hell out of my hands."  
    His laugh turned wicked.  
    "Call me if you have any questions," I noted dryly.  
    "What?" he asked blankly.  
    I laughed. "That's what you said to me earlier."  
    "Did I?" he still sounded confused. "When?"  
    "When you called me all out of breath and told me my text hadn't made sense to read; don't know why."  
    He hesitated a moment. "What do you mean? I was out of..." he snorted. "I jumped onto my balcony, ass."  
    "Sure," I agreed dryly. "Because your stairs don't work."  
    He laughed again and ended the call.  
    I grinned, moving to the trunk and digging out the duffel bag. I made sure Ryan's sweater was in hand as I started for the building, locking my car. It didn't take me long to get to my place, and I left the door open as I moved inside.  
    I had lived in a small and cost-effective apartment since I'd moved to Vegas, well three or four of them, to be honest. The day my rental company had delivered the lease renewal to my house, Hoc had presented me with a neat little packet of houses and apartments that he'd seen I was pre-approved for...a good number of which were owned by Gable or one of his subsidiary companies.  
    I grinned as I glanced into the bathroom.  
    The place wasn't large, but it was nice. It had a bathroom, a bedroom, a laundry closet, and one of those combo living, dining, and kitchen areas. It also had some damn nice insulation, a sweet and efficient heating and cooling unit, and steel lined doors. All of them.  
    I checked my bedroom and closet, then moved back into the main room to shut and lock the door. I made another circuit to be paranoid, then moved over to close the curtains on the main window.  
    I should probably...  
    I moved to the apartment's built-in phone, hitting the button for the guards.  
    "This is Terry, how can I help you?" a pleasant male asked.  
    "This is Brian from ten-A," I supplied. "I wanted to tell you that I'm not interested in having guests today."  
    "Does that include your approved list?"  
    "What were the last three names added, please."  
    "Joshua Rossi last night, then unseen twins that are Collin and Kevin Ruix. Is that correct?"  
    "Yes," I agreed. "And don't just let anyone unseen on the property; be sure to call me and I'll come down to verify them. Uh, Terry?"  
    "Yes?"  
    "Be aware that something spooky might be coming at me, or their minions."  
    "Who did you cross?" he asked dryly. "And you realize that you should have informed us as soon as you did so?"  
    "I didn't _cross_ anyone," I retorted, irked. "I was a white's bait a year or so ago, and now the asshole is in town again. My friends took him down, and I haven't seen or heard more than that, but revenge best served cold, right?"  
    That was more apt than I meant it to be, actually.  
    "Alright, we'll take precautions," he hesitated a moment. "Rossi...he's a white, isn't he?"  
    "Yes, and a friend," I agreed.  
    "Please be _very_ careful," he said carefully.  
    "Yes, yes, until my orgasm kills me," I agreed dryly. "I know, it's not like that; and I know you won't believe that, but it should be a non-thing."  
    He made an amused noise.  
    "Thanks," I sighed, shifting to look the room over again. "No one creepy has shown up, right?"  
    "Only residents since my shift started," he agreed.  
    "Good," I sighed. "I'm taking a nap...make sure to note no-company, please."  
    "I've already marked it," he reassured me. "Have a good day."  
    "Thank you," I muttered, hanging the thing back up and letting out a slow breath.  
    One benefit of being Gable's new little lover, as everyone insisted on calling me, was that he really did do everything for me. The buildings Hoc had shown me were all set up with various supernatural angles, and Gable had happily beefed up security just because I lived here.  
    I wasn't telling Josh that, though.  
    I grinned a bit as I moved to open my washing machine and pour the clothes into it. My hand felt weird where I'd yanked the clothes from Josh, which meant time to scrub the hell out of it. I'm sure he thought that was hilarious.  
    Bleck.  
    I started the machine, then turned and headed for the sink. It didn't take me long to clean up, and I sighed as I headed into my room and flopped onto the bed, then complained out loud since the pillow the stupid vampire used smelled like him. I threw it across the room at the door, yanking the other pillow over and sighing tiredly as I listened to the random city noises.  
    I didn't have anything else to do until Gable woke up. My sleep schedule revolved around Gable's, so this was a natural sleep time to me...sort of amusing to think about...but...  
* *  
    There was a pounding on my door.  
    I sat up, staring around my dark room. The pounding came again, harder.  
    What the hell?  
    I slid off the bed as I grabbed my phone, picking up my bat...steel bat.  
    "Brian?" Gable's voice was alarmed. "Brian? Please?"  
    I leaned into the door to look out the peephole, considering my employer as I realized it really was dark out.  
    Damn, how long had I been in bed?  
    He pounded again, focusing on the peephole with a frown.  
    "Who is it?" I demanded, realizing that he could sense me. I didn't trust him not to have called me, though. Why wouldn't he have called me?  
    "Gable," he still seemed tense. "Why didn't you answer your phone?"  
    "It didn't ring," I noted, clicking the button and realizing...it had died.  
    "Are you safe?" he demanded intently, then hesitated. "Your favorite tea is licorice sweetened with honey, and you first had it at the dress try-on for Ryan's kit."  
    I let out a breath, pulling the door open to study him intently.  
    He let out a relieved breath, moving into the room and hugging me as Arkady and Hoc moved up the stairs to my apartment.  
    "I'm sorry," I muttered, showing him my phone and turning from the door to find my charger.  
    "We got a call from Joshua Rossi," Gable supplied. "He said that you were planning to call him every half hour, except you took a nap. Are you alright?" he looked at the bat.  
    "I didn't know my phone was dying," I explained as the screen lit up with the charge amount. I was a little torn. Only magical creatures could take on another person's form, and no one would dare impersonate Gable. He'd crossed my threshold, too. Since I was a bachelor, I knew I didn't have much of one, but it would have done something to him if he weren't actually Gable.  
    Hoc moved into the apartment, his eyes intent as he studied the entire place. Arkady had his hand in his pocket, but I knew that was because he had a gun.  
    "I was napping," I explained to the pair, still nervous. "My phone died."  
    "Why did you let your phone die?" Arkady asked seriously as he considered me.  
    I frowned at him, looking to the machine and shaking my head. "It shouldn't have; it was at about seventy percent when I left the gym."  
    Arkady looked to Hoc.  
    Hoc moved around to me, blinking down at the bat I was still holding. He considered it, then dug the leather thong that held one of Gable's scales from below his shirt to show me.  
    I reached over to touch it carefully, feeling the familiar spark of warmth and relaxing as I dug out my own. I hadn't realized that the scales were more than...the equivalent of fingernails, really. I'd only realized that Gable could use them for anything when I'd gone to see the siren in LA. Since, I'd found out a few things, which included the sensation when they were touched. Gable's scales were warm, abnormally warm since he was a spirit of fire.  
    Arkady moved over, extending his hand so I could see his little double bracelet and touch his scale as well.  
    I relaxed, setting the bat against the island and rubbing at my face. "Sorry."  
    "Don't be," Arkady reassured me, moving toward the bathroom. "Sensible precautions are sensible precautions."  
    Hoc turned toward the closet for the washing machine, seeming to study the wall.  
    Gable touched my face, studying my eyes. My cheek warmed at his touch, and I frowned slightly at him.  
    "You're not ensorcelled," he sighed with relief. "Are you well?"  
    I nodded, noting my phone was powering up. "I need to apologize to Josh and probably Ryan, too...but I'm alright."  
    "What happened?" he pressed.  
    "Josh found me last night at Target," I smiled slightly at the memory. "We went and ate, then he came back here and crashed."  
    Gable tilted his head to the side. "And fed on you?"  
    "Gods, no," I made a face at him, looking around to see Hoc smirking at me before he and Arkady disappeared into my room. "What are you doing?" I asked blankly.  
    "Checking that you're alone," Arkady reassured me.  
    I rubbed more at my face as my phone started chiming notices at me.  
    "I'm afraid I got a bit desperate in contacting you," Gable admitted, watching the phone as it continued making little noises.  
    Email, text, phone call, voice mail...facebook message, snapchat...what else?  
    I smirked at the phone as the counts started piling up. I nodded at him, deciding not to try to stop the avalanche. "Well, I was up with Josh until four in the morning," I sighed. "We crashed, and then Hoc woke me up around nine."  
    "Five hours is too much sleep!" Hoc declared happily as he bounced back out of my room.  
    I snorted at him, though I was amused. "We hung out an hour or two before he headed home to get stuff to stay the weekend, and I headed over to have a defense lesson with Arkady."  
    Gable nodded, thinking a moment. "And the young vampire has agreed to help you?"  
    "It's a discussion," I shrugged. "It's not easily entered into. I do trust him, but my instincts keep reminding me that vampires are scary."  
    He smiled at that, then sighed and rubbed at his face.  
    "I am sorry," I said, looking around to Arkady as he continued sauntering around the main room. "I didn't mean to scare you guys. I'm not sure how I slept that long."  
    "Fear, most like," Gable gestured at my phone. "Arkady explained your training session with the young vampire, and he did genuinely scare you. Lack of sleep and intimacy would definitely..."  
    Hoc snickered.  
    "I am not _intimate_ with the bloody white," I retorted, unlocking my screen as I glared at my boss.  
    "Yet he states he can feed on you."  
    I turned to glower at Arkady.  
    Arkady laughed wickedly.  
    "What?" Gable asked, looking between us. "What are you teasing him about, Kade?"  
    "He messaged me last night when he and the young man were heading back here," Hoc supplied happily. "I noted that vampire sex is supposed to be amazing."  
    Gable considered that, then rolled his eyes.  
    Hoc laughed warmly.  
    "He can feed on me, but it's...touch," I muttered, touching Gable's throat to demonstrate.  
    Gable's head tilted to the side and his eyes closed almost languidly.  
    "Don't _do_ that!" Hoc said in alarm, moving closer to me.  
    "Calm down," Gable waved him off as he shifted his shoulders to resettle the shirt. "The lad is not a threat to me."  
    "The gesture is intimate," Hoc reminded him. "And can lead to carnal relations, and you might not think twice about that sort of thing, but that is _not_ what he's doing."  
    Gable shrugged his consent, looking back to me and shaking his head. "No worries, much like you're not food, you're not a bed-friend. I understand your meaning."  
    I nodded, frowning around a bit. He'd enjoyed the touch, much like a dog or cat would enjoy being petted. He probably wasn't ever touched, I needed to remember that.  
    "Um, after Ethan...did what he did," I went on, "something changed in me. Josh has been able to feed on me since he removed the binds that were limiting me when I called for Ryan's help. I'm not sure why...and I'm not entirely thrilled that he can still do it."  
    Gable considered the information, moving around to check my hot-water dispenser, it'd been his housewarming gift to me.  
    "I keep it full," I pointed out. I used it for my own tea, which I hadn't started drinking until I started working for him. "Please feel free to have what you will."  
    He smiled at me, opening the cupboard to dig out his cup—yes, he had a cup in my apartment, because he would randomly arrive here.  
    "Let me get ahold of Josh," I added to my friends, turning my back as I hit the call button.  
    "Are you okay?" Josh demanded immediately. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to come to your house because I have a tail."  
    "I'm fine," I said quickly. Josh continued muttering reasons to me that he hadn't come to check on me himself, sounding more and more strained. "I'm fine," I repeated. " _Josh_ , I'm fine."  
    Josh finally fell silent.  
    "I fell asleep," I supplied. "I'm not sure why my phone died, it shouldn't have. Gable and them are here, now. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you."  
    Josh let out a groan, and I heard something thud. "Empty night...alright. Are you sure you're alright?"  
    "I'm fine," I reassured him. "I'll let you know what we get up to next."  
    He made a noise.  
    "I'll talk to you later," I reassured him. "Call me if you have any questions."  
    Gable, Hoc, and Arkady turned to look at me in confusion from where they'd started futzing in my kitchen.  
    Josh let out an amused noise, then sighed again. "Keep in contact, please. I was scared."  
    "I will," I agreed, then ended the call as I grinned at the rest.  
    "I was under the impression that such phrasing was for message machines," Gable noted as he messed with the teabag in his cup.  
    "He said it to me earlier," I explained, grinning at them. "He went back to his manor to feed, and I texted him my plans. He called me a few minutes later out of breath and distracted. He said that randomly when we were hanging up, and I've already teased him about it. I wanted him to realize that I really was alright."  
    Gable snorted, then smiled as he pulled the bag out and tossed it into my sink, turning to spoon honey into the cup.  
    "...so what now?" I asked curiously. "Guy's night?"  
    "We are such party animals," Arkady agreed happily as he spooned hot chocolate mix into his mug. "We get to your house, and the first thing we do is go for tea," he pointed out my double row of liquor bottles between the fridge and dispenser.  
    I grinned at that, looking to Hoc.  
    Hoc rolled his eyes, tossing his own teabag into the sink and moving around to take the phone from me.  
    "I need to call Ryan," I protested.  
    "Let me see if I can tell anything about the battery first," he gestured me away. "Get yourself some tea."  
    "In my own house, I can get tea?" I retorted.  
    He grinned at me, starting to flip through menus.  
    "I wouldn't refuse meat," Gable offered.  
    I blinked at him, then moved to see what I actually had. They were here, and Gable didn't make plans for Saturday nights. I may as well feed them if I had enough food for it.  
    "Hrm," Arkady leaned in to look over my shoulder. "Looks like you'll have to go with flesh," he pinched at my side.  
    I squawked and turned on him, kicking at him as he ducked away, laughing.  
    "But he has no flesh," Gable winked at me. "You seem to have some to spare."  
    Arkady continued laughing, sitting on the couch and grabbing the television remote.  
    "That's what I thought," Gable noted primly.  
    "You can bite my ass," Arkady offered.  
    Gable started laughing.  
    "I'm fairly certain you didn't just offer an actual insult," I suggested to the male as I dug out the meat pack I had. It was potentially too old.  
    "I'll just eat that," Gable noted, actually blinking at me and the package I was holding. "My mouth is watering."  
    "And not let us eat, oh liege?" Hoc asked curiously as he continued focusing on my phone.  
    "You can make your own food," Gable offered happily.  
    I grinned, passing him the package.  
    Gable considered it, poking through the plastic and meeting my eyes.  
    "Do it," I offered. "If you're hungry, it's the least I can do after making you worry."  
    Gable grinned at me...and started to eat the raw meat.  
    Well, it wasn't too old.  
    I shook my head and turned to give Hoc a curious look.  
    "Your GPS has been running," Hoc noted, frowning up at me. "Were you where it was blocked?"  
    I shook my head at him, shrugging a bit.  
    "Well, let's turn the location thing off for a few days," he muttered, clearing screens. "There may have been some sort of tracker on you."  
    "Wonderful," I muttered dryly. "If you three turn into spooks, I'm going to slay you."  
    "How?" Arkady asked blankly. "You barely have any self-defense at all."  
    "Magic of a higher order," I noted.  
    Arkady started laughing happily, and started to channel surf...while Hoc continued messing with my phone, and the dragon ate the raw meat that would have fed me for about two days.  
  
  
***Josh**  
    I sighed as Joey continued using my lap as a pillow. He was reading on his new phone, and evidently entirely at ease. I wasn't sure how he could be, considering that Ethan was furious at me. My day had started good, but had dropped down the pit in about a heartbeat, and it probably wouldn't be ending well, either. The fact that Ethan was in town at all was miserable, and combining that with the fact that I'd just poached his buck like the lowest of the low...well, even if Ethan hadn't intended to attack me, he would do something now.  
    Actually, he had tried a few times. I'd gotten about three calls from the hotel staff that warned me. The first time, Ethan had tried to come up himself. The second time, he'd tried to send in some of his other thralls...they'd been with him when he tried to go up the first time, which meant that he wasn't really thinking. The last time had been them catching a group of males trying to sneak upstairs who had no rights to be in the hotel at all.  
    Joey had been scared for most of the afternoon, though it had faded away after I'd gotten him a new phone through my carrier. He'd been telling me about his life for the last year or however long it'd been. After Ryan had beaten Ethan down, I'd taken him away and Bui had done something that had changed my cousin. It was probably just not letting him feed and terrifying him in private.  
    The fact of the matter was that I'd left him to Bui's ministrations, and I'd taken Joey, so Ethan had been alone.  
    Evidently, Ethan had started feeding on Joey regularly, though not sexually. The buck had bruises all over his body from where the parasite had bitten him while feeding. It hadn't been about the blood, it'd been about the pain. He wasn't safe for Joey anymore, and Joey's only recourse had been to find me. I did, after all, have access to the wizards who could really rescue him.  
    Well, having a freak-pawn might help me later, or if everyone thought I could call one in. I'd heard that Thomas had access to a freak...I'd have to ask Ryan about him. He probably at least knew of him. From what I understood of it the guy had a name in the wizard world.  
    I sighed as I ran my hand through Joey's hair, then blinked as I realized I'd done it. He smiled up at me, then shoved himself up to give me a curious look.  
    "I'm agitated," I supplied, pushing off the couch and gesturing for him to lay back down. "Don't mind me."  
    "Are you sure?" he asked, setting the phone on the cushion next to him.  
    "Am I sure that I'm agitated?" I asked blankly, moving over to mix us up some drinks.  
    "That you're okay with me ignoring you," Joey retorted, giving me a tired and amused look.  
    "You're not ignoring me," I pointed out. "I move and you focus on me."  
    He tilted his head very slightly, looking distantly across the building. "Ethan would call that ignoring him."  
    "I'm fairly independent," I reassured him, passing him a cup and moving to sit in the chair. This suite was set up like the one I'd rented with Joey, Kevin, and Brian the last time I'd dealt with Ethan. "And I don't need to be worshipped. You'll have free run of the manor, though I'm going to have to figure out the room situation."  
    He nodded, frowning slightly. "You...understand that...I have a hard time thinking if you don't feed, right?" he asked. "And...I don't mean sex." He rubbed at the bruise on his throat. "It gets hard to track things."  
    "I suppose we do need to set up the bond," I sighed, running a hand through my own hair as I considered that. "And you're not going to want to go back to Ethan?"  
    He looked down, shaking his head.  
    "I guess we'll see what time brings," I mused.  
    "He...doesn't believe that you don't feed on males," Joey blinked up at me. "I tried to tell him, but he believes all of those stories. Is it just certain males? Or..."  
    "They're stories," I shrugged. "Most of my rivals are women, and they're attached to their bucks. The stories were to keep a buffer between us. Seriously, how scared were you when I showed up in that little closet?"  
    He made a face and nodded. "I cried a few times when I realized you were my only way away from him."  
    "You're going to go to one of the women in a heartbeat," I noted dryly, rolling my eyes. "Meaning I'm going to have whatever stupid fight this is with Ethan and end up with the reputation for poaching for nothing."  
    He looked down.  
    I sighed, rising and moving with the intent to drop next to him again, then pausing. We had to assert some sort of bond, and my sulking about my shattered reputation was just going to make him feel inadequate or insecure. I didn't want to sit on the couch anymore, though.  
    I drained my cup, gesturing for him to follow.  
    He was not happy about that.  
    I snickered as I gestured at the bed, turning to pull my charge cord out of my bag. He climbed onto it as he watched me with a frown, then watched as I changed. I sort of wanted to know what he was thinking, but I could sense his anxiety.  
    I yawned as I flopped onto my rump, grabbing the remotes and settling down, looking at him curiously.  
    "What?" he asked uncertainly.  
    "Relax," I retorted. "I suppose I can go all bad-ass manipulator on you if you want me to, but I'd just as soon put a movie on and crash."  
    He frowned more, draining his own glass and blinking a few times.  
    "What?" I asked, considering the cup.  
    "That was...stronger than I expected," he supplied, shifting to put it on the far night stand. "And I haven't eaten in a while."  
    "Are you hungry?" I asked blankly.  
    He shook his head flopping back into the pile of pillows.  
    I grabbed my phone, checking again for a message from Brian. Still none, but he was with Bui, so that should be fine.  
    Damn it.  
    I sighed and powered up the television, focusing on the movie list. Joey went back to reading, and as he seemed inclined to do, he slowly shifted across the bed to my side.  
    If Ethan didn't have an interest in males, why the hell had he taken up with this buck?  
    I allowed him to settle his back into my side as he read, watching a movie myself. The next time I looked at him, Joey was asleep.  
    I shook my head in amusement, unhooking my phone and hooking his to the cord. It was a ten-foot one, and my phone hadn't taken too long to be full. I used the little fan-remote to turn the lights off, yawning as I debated calling my friend or not.  
    I wasn't sure when I'd fallen asleep, but I woke up entirely. I laid in the dark room, listening intently to the building around me. I wasn't sure what had...  
    Joey flinched.  
    I blinked, focusing down on him since his back was fully pressed to my side. He flinched again, harder, then made an unhappy noise.  
    Okay...so...did I wake him up?  
    Joey made a scared noise, rolling away from me and pushing himself up, then staring down at me in confusion.  
    "You alright?" I asked quietly.  
    He let out a long breath, then flopped where he was at. "Sorry."  
    "Are you alright?" I pressed.  
    "I didn't mean to wake you up," he said in an upset sounding voice. "I can..."  
    "Joey," I cut him off. "Calm down. What's wrong? What were you dreaming?"  
    He shifted slightly, then sighed and shook his head. "Nothing, it was stupid."  
    "Do you have nightmares all the time?" I demanded, turning the television power off. I looked around the room, finally grabbing my phone and noting that it was three in the morning.  
    I'd put the movie on before one.  
    "It's nothing," he said in a smaller voice.  
    "It's not nothing," I complained, sitting up and leaning over to touch his forehead. He didn't have a fever. "Was it me?"  
    "Ethan," he said into the bedding. "Getting violent."  
    I sighed, running my hand through his hair as I shook my head. "Your phone is probably charged. You can read whatever you're reading. I want to go back to sleep, though."  
    He shifted up and moved to lay in his spot again. "Did you just...feed?" he asked.  
    "No," I blinked at him. "I mean, I could have, but..."  
    He snorted, unhooking his phone from the cord and blinking at me.  
    I shrugged at him.  
    He considered me a moment, then yawned and shifted back under the covers.  
    I tossed the cord to the floor, checking my phone again and glaring at my lack of messages before checking my damn network settings.  
    "Do...you like to read?" Joey asked suddenly.  
    "Huh?" I looked around to him. "Uh, not really. Why?"  
    He smiled a little sadly at me and shrugged. "This story is funny is all."  
    "You're reading a story?" I asked blankly.  
    He turned the phone so I could see the screen again. "I read most of the time," he noted. "And..." he hesitated. "Well, Ethan had an account set up so I could buy ebooks. He's already removed his card."  
    If this was Joey's main pleasure in life, that was an extremely dick move for my cousin to make. It seemed more like a breakup than a game move, but I couldn't be entirely certain of that yet. Everything about it seemed like more of a breakup, which if it really was, was sort of horrible on me...but then, Joey was actually scared of Ethan, and didn't seem to be scared of me, so...  
    I grunted and shoved myself up, moving to the bathroom. Joey was staring sadly at his phone when I came out again, and I grabbed my own wallet before sitting. I tossed one of my bank cards at him, putting the wallet on the nightstand and curling up under the blankets again.  
    "Um...what?"  
    "If he removed his card, put mine in," I shrugged. "It's not like I care."  
    "What's...my limit?" he asked hesitantly, shoving himself up.  
    "I dunno...a hundred?"  
    "Gift card, or..."  
    "I have no idea what ebooks are worth," I noted with a yawn. "Just keep track of what you spend and when you reach a hundred tell me."  
    He snorted slightly. "You're supposed to be terrifying," he noted as he flicked the bedside lamp on. "Why are you being nicer than Ethan?"  
    "I can make something up if you want," I retorted, typing a text out to Brian in complaint of the long silence.  
    Joey snorted, turning so he was under the light as he typed on his phone.  
    My phone started ringing and I smirked as I answered it.  
    "You are a whiny bitch," Brian informed me.  
    "Yeah yeah," I retorted. "What are you doing?"  
    "I _was_ sleeping," he shot back. "Evidently you exhausted me."  
    I started laughing at that, then made a noise. "Sorry, everything is just quiet here. I figure he's moving somewhere." I hesitated as Joey passed the card back to me. "Um...I'm going to hate myself in about three seconds...but can you check on L?"  
    "I did," Brian said calmly. "And I'm going to Ryan's."  
    I sighed internally, realizing that it was dumb of me to think he hadn't called her. I made a confirming noise. "When's your flight?"  
    "Gable's taking me in about twenty minutes," he noted dryly.  
    "And I woke you up," I laughed quietly. "I really am sorry. You said you'd tell me what your plans were when you made them."  
    "Well, my phone died because the GPS was running. I don't have any location-intense apps; well, my map one, but that's not something I use in town."  
    I considered that, then sighed. "Oh."  
    "Yeah," he agreed. "So I don't have my GPS going, and I'm hoping your cousin isn't trying to track me down the high-tech way, but I suppose that'll stop working when I get to the wizards' house."  
    "I'll keep you up to date on what goes on," I reassured him quietly.  
    "Thanks," he sighed. "Ryan said that you can bring your boyfriend if you want, but he's not in any condition for his favorite drug."  
    I snorted at that.  
    "Well, okay, Kevin said that...but..."  
    "I hate you all," I said happily. "Go have sex with your wizard."  
    His laugh was sharp and amused, as if he hadn't expected that at all. "I should, huh? If either of us could manage it, how protected would I be?"  
    I started laughing again, then yawned and groaned a bit. "I'm going back to sleep. Sorry I woke you up."  
    "I'll text you when I get there," he noted. "And, um, L is alright. I told her Ethan was here, so she's not doing anything stupid."  
    I sighed and nodded, then made a noise. "Alright, I'll see you...later, I guess."  
    "Yeah."  
    The call ended, and I set my phone on the nightstand, looking around to see that Joey was watching me.  
    "What?"  
    "You look sad," he said quietly, then smiled slightly at me and raised the phone. "Thank you for that."  
    I nodded at him, yawning and shifting to get comfortable again. I could hear the endless traffic and laughter outside, and wondered if maybe I shouldn't pass Joey off to one of the women. That wasn't really fair to him, though; I had a feeling that he hadn't picked this life either.  



	3. Chapter 3

#### Chapter Three

***Ryan**  
    Sleep had made it so I could walk around again, which was a vast improvement to being bedridden. Even with the calls about Brian sort of disappearing, I'd slept like I was dead. Part of that was the painkillers, sure, but I'd needed the sleep and the protein I'd slammed.  
    I'd been sent to deal with the problem near the Oregon border almost out of the blue. As a warden of the white council, I was frequently sent all over the western seaboard. My combat skills were reliable, so when something unexplained and potentially dangerous showed up, they sent for me. I didn't mind it, not really. I liked violence, and specifically using it against things that deserved it.  
    I grinned a bit as I hobbled into the main room, focusing outside the apartment to be sure Bui wasn't closing yet.  
    Tromping around in the rain and snow hadn't been so bad. I'd seen a ton of little folk, a few random nature spirits, and then had come across the yokai in her little-girl skin. Our fight had been hard and had included a few moments of me nearly drowning. I hadn't been able to sit in the cold and wet after my dunking, though, so I'd immediately stumbled back down out of the mountains to my car. I'd had to sit there with the heat blasting for probably an hour before I could think clear enough to drive again, and by the time I'd gotten back to the hotel, I'd been about ready to pass out again.  
    Kevin was not impressed.  
    I grinned at the memory of him helping me back inside under a veil. I'd been covered in blood and mud, and when the healer had shown up, I'd nearly panicked. The fact that the healer's help had only gotten me to the point of laying in bed a few days...well, it didn't matter.  
    Being sacked out and drugged was not the best state in which to make plans, but I was relatively certain that my written scrawl of notes was accurate. It said five-twenty arrival...or something like that anyway.  
    I'd been fairly high.  
    I moved through the apartment and focused on taking down the wards. Kevin had to get up for work in another hour, so the plan was to keep things quiet until then. I didn't think Bui was going to try and come inside, the point of brining Brian so early was so he could avoid being spotted with sunrise. I had a feeling that the whole dawn thing would affect his veil or have some measure of meaning with the cultural aspect.  
    Didn't matter.  
    I moved down the stairs, breathing in the fairly brisk air. My ribs were throbbing, but most everything else had faded off into aching. I'd have to take it easy for a few days, but I got the impression this was mostly going to be Brian and I chatting.  
    I felt a great sweep of heat moving nearer, closing my eyes. Gable's veil was a load better than anything I could do; hell, it was better than what Kevin could do, and he and Collin were both damn good with veils.  
    Yes, that was...there.  
    I focused over the Coral Palace, trying to discern anything with my eyes. The heated sensation moved sinuously to the road outside the warehouse, and the ground _shook_ with impact. Car alarms went off in the surrounding area, and I heard something that was probably a garbage can make a resounding clapping sound.  
    The veil flickered, and after a heartbeat, I could see the long red and orange creature again. He was watching as Brian climbed off of him, his head almost entirely backwards...and he was gorgeous.  
    I moved closer as I stared at the scales I'd only caught glimpses of before. They started out red and seemed to blush orange, and as he moved the color rippled almost as if it were iridescent. He was tall, too. My head only reached about his shoulder, and I slowed as I realized that he had...claws. They were long, thick, and the tips looked damn sharp. He had something of a mane of the fire colored...fire. That wasn't just fire, his mane was of orange and red fire that acted like hair.  
    Holy crap...no wonder everyone tried to slay dragons.  
    I watched as Brian unhooked whatever bags he had from whatever harness there'd been. He was laughing as he talked, and he moved up to the front of the creature, moving up under one giant foreleg...to hug the barrel chest. He looked like a toddler hugging a short horse or something, and the dragon wrapped the arm around him in return...and then focused on me.  
    I froze as instinctive fear took over.  
    The dragon's head was shaped like a lion's head, that was the impression I'd gotten before, but it also had the strange whiskers that showed up in the images of Chinese dragons. The mouth spread into that huge, awful, familiar smile, and I realized that the dragon was not displeased to see me.  
    I moved closer.  
    "I'll keep my phone on," Brian promised as he stepped back beside me to look up at the beast. "But the tablet would probably die if it's in the same room of either of them. I'll set up the laptop, but I'll have to use my phone to get internet."  
    Bui nodded, looking down to him. ' _I do not foresee any issues rising. If something does come up, Hoc or I will call. If your phone fails, we'll call the physical phone of the residence_.'  
    ...holy crap I could hear his _thoughts_.  
    ' _Ryan_ ,' Bui's voice was calm as he inclined that giant head to me. ' _You seem recovered. I was under the impression that you'd been bedridden_.'  
    "I don't have much in the way of energy," I agreed. "I move slowly and hurt a lot, but I'll manage. Are you well?"  
    ' _A bit worried_ ,' he noted, his eyes focusing beyond us. ' _The city has been safe, but I am gone. I cannot stay. See to my [...]._ '  
    I blinked hard at the concept of a word that jarred me to my core. It seemed to be a mixture of heart, lover, friend, companion, and child.  
    "What?" Brian asked, blinking at me. "You alright?"  
    "What did he just call you?" I asked, pressing at a temple as the aftershock of the word receded.  
    "Dear," Brian noted, rolling his eyes.  
    The word had meant so much _more_ than that. I looked back up to the dragon.  
    ' _I intend to investigate the vampire's dealings_ ,' Bui informed me. ' _I'll arrange a bank transfer to be sure of funds_.'  
    "I told you not to worry," Brian chided, moving over to lean into the foreleg. "I have money, and Ryan has enough money."  
    ' _And I said I'd do it anyway, kit_ ,' Bui retorted. ' _You don't have a choice, remember? We talked about this_.'  
    Brian started laughing, swatting at the creature.  
    Bui leaned down and nuzzled at him, not unlike a cat...and Brian leaned into his face as if the burning fire of a mane didn't burn him. He started laughing after a moment, falling _onto_ the creature. It made Bui laugh as he pulled back to consider Brian with intense eyes a moment. He turned the look onto me, and I saw genuine affection there.  
    "I don't see there being any issues here," I reassured him, looking him over again. His hind legs looked to belong to a lion as well, with the tufty end to his tail. The claws were even more massive there.  
    ' _What?_ ' Bui asked blankly, looking along his body. ' _You are not checking me out?_ '  
    Brian started laughing hard, swatting at the creature again as he stumbled back toward me.  
    Bui laughed again, focusing back on me.  
    "I'm not sure what that was supposed to mean," I noted, glancing at Brian since he was still laughing. "But, to be honest, I sort of was; I've never seen you in this form for more than a moment."  
    Bui's laughter almost rocked me where I stood, and he moved over to shove his head into my shoulder. I grunted in pain as my ribs protested, grabbing the giant head to keep from falling...and realized that the burning mane felt like fur.  
    This was too bizarre.  
    ' _[...], be well_.'  
    I flinched back from that word as well. It had been something like protector, fighter, masculine, and strength.  
    ' _Are you alright?_ ' He asked, actually meeting my eyes again.  
    "Some of your words are...distinct," I explained. "Very distinct."  
    ' _Mortal_ ,' he retorted, though he sounded pleased as he nudged at me again. ' _Pet me, already_.'  
    Brian started laughing.  
    I blinked down at the huge head, then ran my hands over it and the mane. He made a happy noise that almost counted as purring, then turned to rub his head against Brian again. Brian started complaining at him about being shoved over, and Bui laughed as he turned and took a few steps from us.  
    I watched his long body go by, reaching out briefly to touch the scales. They were hot, and he turned to give me a curious look.  
    "Sorry," I pulled my hand away. "I couldn't help it."  
    ' _You are attracted to fire_ ,' Bui mused as he considered me. ' _That may not be a good thing_.'  
    I grinned at him.  
    He looked back to Brian again, then took a few steps and jumped.  
    The car alarms that had been silenced wailed to life again, and I heard more garbage-can clamoring.  
    "Please tell me we can go back to sleep," Brian urged, turning toward the apartment and slowing at the foot of the stairs. He raised his wrist to show me the bracelet I'd given him before. "Does this still work?"  
    "As long as you just took it off and put it back on," I agreed. "But I took the wards down to be sure Bui didn't get offended."  
    Brian nodded, shifting his bag onto his shoulder and lifting his suitcase. "Don't bother asking to help," he added, starting up the stairs. "You're walking too slow for me to think it's a good idea for you to be walking at all."  
    I snorted at him, moving into the building and resetting the wards.  
    "So much for sleeping in," Kevin noted dryly from where he was in his bedroom door. "Hey, Bry."  
    "Hey," Brian smiled tiredly at him, looking around. "Sorry about that."  
    "I have to get up anyway," Kevin yawned, waving us away as he disappeared again.  
    "No Collin?" Brian asked, looking back around to me.  
    I shook my head, stopping near the couch. "So...you want to crash with me or in the room?"  
    "Let me put my stuff in there and I'll decide," he yawned, moving into the hall.  
    I frowned slightly to Kevin when he reappeared with clothes on. "I didn't take into account the car alarms."  
    "Funnily enough, it was the can sound that got me," he smiled a bit as he moved to sit on the couch and lean forward.  
    "I'll do supper," I offered. "Try and have it ready when you get home."  
    "Thanks," Kevin sighed, looking up as Brian reappeared and propped the door open. "What?"  
    "Cold in there," Brian supplied, rubbing at his arms. "You alright?"  
    Kevin smiled tiredly back at him and nodded.  
    I hesitated, moving so Brian could pass me as I considered my friend. "Anything I can do?"  
    "I'm going to try and come home early," Kevin shrugged, rising again and starting for the fridge. "Go back to sleep. You're not healed yet."  
    I nodded, and followed Brian...who was already curled up against the wall.  
    I grinned a bit, then climbed into the bed myself.  
  
  
 ***L**  
    I sighed to myself as I moved from the grocery store back to my car. I knew I shouldn't really be running around if Ethan was in town, but I couldn't hunker down all week without food.  
    I sighed as I threw my bag in the passenger seat, then blinked as it rested in the air itself.  
    Something flickered, and I stared at a smiling male in disbelief.  
    "You should have stayed home," he noted happily.  
    Son of a _bitch!_ Fear bloomed in my stomach as I stared at him, then realized I needed to get away before he got ahold of me. I hadn't climbed into my car yet, so instead of sitting, I straightened again and slammed the door. I headed directly back into the building and moved through the store into the connecting mall. I didn't look to see if I was being chased, I didn't look to see if anyone was watching me. I simply walked away.  
    I didn't want to be part of Josh's nonsense, maybe I could refuse to be.  
    Ha.  
    Why couldn't supernatural creatures leave me alone? I'd been asked out by Gable Bui at least four separate times now, not to mention the relationship with Ryan. I was annoyed that I was only marked out because of Josh, and the stupid creatures couldn't even take into account that we'd broken up.  
    "Can I help you?" a security guard asked as I moved to their little office.  
    "Some man was in my car," I said, moving closer to him. "I got in and realized it, then came back inside. I don't know who he is, but..."  
    The man's eyes narrowed as he looked past me, then grabbed his phone. "Let me call the actual authorities. Come in."  
    I moved around him to sit on a padded seat behind him, curling down into it as I pulled out my phone and considered it.  
    "Was there a reason you didn't call the cops?" the security guard asked.  
    "I didn't want to stop to do it until I had at least some safety," I admitted. I didn't note that if he were following me he could blow out my phone, or that prey runs, or any of the other little things that Ryan had taught me about the sorts of creatures who had, as he called it, human skins. That didn't even account for wizards or mortals.  
    The guard nodded, making a sad face at me, then focusing on speaking into his phone.  
    ' _Alright, asshole_ ,' I texted Josh. ' _I haven't heard or seen you since May second. Ethan being in town is bad enough, but now some random male ends up in my car? Are you FUCKING kidding me?_ '  
    ' _Are you alright?_ ' was his response.  
    ' _Hanging out in the security hutch of Viller since some RANDOM MALE WAS IN MY CAR_.'  
    My phone started ringing.  
    "I don't want to be alone right now," I informed him, rubbing at the tears in my eyes. "And I know Brian went to California. I just..."  
    "I'm on my way," Josh stated, then talked in the background a moment. "Are you near people?"  
    "In the security room," I repeated.  
    "Go out to people," he stated.  
    I hesitated, then shook my head. "I'm here with the security guard. He's calling the cops."  
    "L," Josh said in a firm voice, "go out to people. You want to be in a crowd...do the whole kick and scream thing."  
    "But..."  
    "Yes, right here," the security guard glanced over his shoulder at me.  
    I stood, anxiety tightening in my stomach. I moved around the man, and he caught my arm.  
    "Miss, just stay here," he urged.  
    I yanked from him and slid from the room.  
    "Miss!" he protested, following me.  
    "I don't want to be alone right now," I snapped back at him, moving for the food-court.  
    He made a frustrated noise after me, but stopped giving chase.  
    "Do not forget the sort of things I can do to people with touch," Josh sighed as car doors shut. "And my family owns government officials."  
    I wiped the tears from my eyes as I moved through the sea of unfamiliar faces. I felt like I was being watched from every angle as I moved over to sit at a table by one of the building's windows, curling up a bit.  
    "It's going to take me another ten minutes at least," he noted quietly. "And this just confirms that I need to build up my coterie," he sighed.  
    "What is going on?" I demanded, trying not to start crying. "What is actually happening?"  
    "Joey," he explained quietly. "He showed up yesterday, and he asked to stay with me. I took him. Ethan is pissed."  
    "Is it a game?" I demanded, grabbing a napkin from a dispenser on the table.  
    "I can't tell yet," he said. "I have Joey with me, he stayed with me last night. We'll be there soon. Just stay on the phone with me."  
    We were silent for a few minutes, and the awkwardness of it finally bothered me.  
    "Why don't they know that we broke up?" I asked irritably as I watched the people near me.  
    "Because they didn't really know about you until they met you. What it means now is that Ethan hasn't been tracking me at all. This is a move against me, and only me."  
    There was a voice in the background.  
    "You can say that all you want, "Josh returned. "But at what point does it mean he's not doing something?"  
    There was silence.  
    "I'm up the block," Josh noted.  
    I sighed and stood, heading back through the building toward my car. The entire mall was busy, and I moved to the foyer of the first store, watching outside.  
    It only took a moment for the Ferrari to pull in, and I watched as it parked. When Josh stood up, I almost bolted. He was talking to someone inside the car...and wearing a black wife-beater.  
    I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen him in one that wasn't white.  
    He turned toward the building with his phone to his ear, then stopped as he noticed me through the glass. He smiled slightly, ending the call.  
    I pocketed my phone, watching him as I moved from the building.  
    "Hey, L," he sighed, stopping near me and indicating Joey. "You remember Joey?"  
    I nodded, looking the young man over briefly, then looked back to Josh.  
    He didn't hesitate, he moved forward and hugged me.  
    His scent brought back an avalanche of memories, of being angry with him or the fun we'd had. I could remember his laugh and his scowl, and a ton of tiny memories that I'd suppressed. I hadn't realized how badly I'd missed him.  
    I started crying into his chest before I could stop myself, clinging to him as he sighed. I had a cardigan on over my cami, but he did touch my hair.  
    "We should go somewhere else," Joey noted hesitantly.  
    Josh's hand moved through my hair again, slower, then he hissed and pulled away quickly.  
    I started laughing in spite of myself, pulling back to glower up at him. "Idiot."  
    He snorted, flexing his hand as he considered it. "Brian said you still see him sporadically...it was worth a try."  
    "You are an _idiot_ ," I persisted, pulling away to smack at his chest as I turned back for the store. I could remember the look on his face before I'd exploded at him for bringing that woman to the house...and how much it'd hurt when I'd been at the ball and realized that he hadn't intended to talk to me at all.  
    I spun away from him, angry at myself as I moved into the building.  
    "...a little volatile," Joey was muttering.  
    I turned to _focus_ on him.  
    He flinched back, starting to laugh.  
    "It's exciting," Josh reassured us both. "This isn't actually the most extreme turn around I've had with her. You...okay?" he asked, studying my face.  
    "I can take care of the burning thing for you," Joey offered.  
    I narrowed my eyes at him.  
    "Don't," Josh said quietly, gesturing to him with a frown. "It's not that simple for her."  
    The young man blinked, looking back to me, then ducked his head.  
    "I won't hold it against you if you drop it," I reassured him, crossing my arms over my chest as I glowered at my old friend.  
    "I think it's a legit breakup," Josh shrugged, shifting to one side so there was a wide path around us. "And I think Ethan wasn't expecting it and is scrambling."  
    "So who was the guy who showed up?" I demanded, looking between them. "He had a veil."  
    Josh froze in that unnatural way he had, he could have been a mannequin as he stared back at me, then turned only his head to Joey.  
    Joey was looking between us in confusion, crossing his arms over his chest.  
    "That look means he's about to flip his shit," I informed the younger male. "You can tell by the frozen body language."  
    Joey looked from me to Josh, shifting back a step and swallowing as he looked back to me again.  
    "Who?" Josh asked in a cold voice. "Who does he know that can use a veil?"  
    Joey started shaking his head quickly, looking between us again. "No one!" he said quickly. "He thinks the freaks are a nuisance."  
    Josh was studying him intently.  
    I looked around, processing that. "Who else would have been trying to find me?" I demanded. "What would the point of that be at all?"  
    "You _know_ freaks," Joey retorted, shifting a step away from Josh again. "Why would this have to do with Ethan?"  
    "Why _wouldn't_ it have to do with Ethan?" Josh demanded in a low voice. "What is the likelihood of someone else after her?"  
    Joey shrank slightly, looking back to me and shaking his head quickly. I could see the sincerity in his eyes as he did so, but Josh's hand snapped out and grabbed his wrist.  
    I could see his eyes almost roll back.  
    "Stop it," I snapped at the vampire, moving around the young man and under an arm to support him. "Or I'll take a page out of Ryan's book and grab you somewhere special."  
    I saw Josh's anger mutate to amusement, then back into annoyance.  
    Joey leaned into me, shaking very slightly. He wasn't looking at Josh.  
    "Let's go," Josh snapped, turning and leaving the building again.  
    I followed him as Joey looked nervously to my face. I could see his anxiety, and realized that he was genuinely scared of Josh. I couldn't blame him for that, Josh had made himself a very specific reputation, and without the blinders I'd built up to protect myself from the truth, I could see that the reputation wasn't that far from reality.  
    "Leave your car," Josh added, looking back to me.  
    "No," I stated, moving around his Ferrari without looking back at him.  
    "Ella," he snapped, following me.  
    "Stop ordering me around," I snapped, turning on him as a cop car pulled into the lot. "Talk to me like I'm not some stupid doe who you can control, and we might get somewhere."  
    I saw his anger flash hard and fast, and he spun away from me with a tense-shouldered huff.  
    I had wondered if I'd be able to redirect him or if he'd snap. The protection I'd gained from first him, then Ryan, made me feel more secure. I knew there was a line to balance with any of the creatures beyond Josh, because my protection could easily be removed, but this was my old friend.  
    "Please come with me," he snapped, turning back to me. "We can get your car later once we figure out what is actually going on."  
    I relaxed slightly, glaring at him a moment longer just so he knew I could refuse him, then gestured at the car. "Let me get my groceries."  
    He rolled his eyes, following me.  
    "Miss?" the cop car parked near us, "are you having a problem?"  
    "No," I said easily, moving to dig my groceries from car. "Thank you."  
    The cop looked uncertain as he studied Josh, then nodded his head to me and went back into gear. Josh leaned against my trunk as the machine started past us, and I took a moment to get my important things from the car. I locked it when I'd finished, gesturing for him to move. With the bullshit mounting, I'd made sure I had enough things in my car to drive to LA if it became necessary.  
    Josh watched me with interest as I dug my bag out of the trunk, then blinked as he realized it was an overnight bag.  
    "Carry this," I ordered, passing him my book-bag. I took a moment to arrange the rest in my arms, then closed the trunk and started back for his car.  
    He _sighed_ after me.  
    I grinned to Joey, who was waiting at the Ferrari uncertainly. "Honestly," I said over my shoulder. "Don't you have any pride? Look at this car. Why is it tan? I could have sworn it was pristinely white—and why do you _still_ have it?"  
    "Oh shut-up," Josh retorted, popping his own trunk with the fob. "Don't touch the dildo."  
    I made an absolutely disgusted noise as Joey frowned at him. The item in question was still in an unopened box, and I tossed my bag in the clear space beyond it without acknowledging an ounce of curiosity.  
    Josh was giving me an amused look as he swung my book-bag in, then turned to gesture at Joey. "Come on, get in. We can go hit the hotel. I want to call Brian and make sure he knows what's happening," he focused pointedly on Joey. "And then we can talk."  
    Joey slid into the car.  
    "If you keep intimidating him," I said seriously, studying the vampire as I stood at the passenger door, "you're not going to like what I do."  
    "What? Leave?" he asked, rolling his eyes.  
    "Let's not start," I suggested. "Because we're both capable of tearing into each other right now, and it won't actually do either of us any good."  
    "Then don't threaten me," he suggested pointedly.  
    I flipped him off, sliding in to sit and buckle.  
    "Please don't make him angry," Joey whispered, not looking up at me.  
    I felt my chest tighten at the request, studying the young man.  
    "What?" Josh demanded as he sat and buckled.  
    "Just drive, pretty-boy," I retorted.  
    He started the engine without comment, reversing. I grabbed my phone, hitting autodial.  
    "Hey, what's up?" Brian asked in a happily curious voice.  
    "I just went to get into my car and had some asshole sitting in the passenger seat under a veil," I supplied.  
    Brian hesitated.  
    "Josh came and picked me up," I added, glancing sidelong at him. "So we're in his car...I assume going to his hotel room."  
    "Want me to call Gable?" Brian asked.  
    "No," Josh stated.  
    "Go ahead," I reassured my friend, giving Josh a dirty look. "We're not sure if Ethan actually knows anyone who can shield. Joey suggested it could be something to do with Ryan, but...I don't know. That doesn't seem likely."  
    Brian repeated the information to Ryan, and I heard my boyfriend start swearing.  
    "Yeah," Brian said after a minute. "Ryan's about to blow a gasket, but he'd pretty much one big contusion from that yokai."  
    I made a noise. "Do you think I should drive out there?"  
    "No," Josh stated, glaring at me.  
    I ignored him.  
    "Gable might fly you out," Brian muttered thoughtfully. "I guess we can talk to him about it when he gets up. I imagine you're safe enough with Josh for now."  
    Ryan started talking in the background, and I glanced back to study Joey as I considered things. I was almost positive Ryan was saying to at least bring Joey, if not to bring Josh as well.  
    It was weird to think that my breakup with Josh hadn't actually ended Ryan and Brian's friendship with him. I studied the vampire, realizing that Josh hadn't even once looked at me as food since we met up.  
    He was well fed.  
    I turned to look at Joey again, trying not to imagine why that could be and starting to giggle hard.  
    Josh _sighed_.  
    I started laughing outright, turning back to the front and covering my face with one hand.  
    "What?" Brian asked, sounding startled.  
    "Josh is well fed," I supplied, trying not to start giggling again. "He's...well fed."  
    Brian hesitated a moment, then started laughing as well.  
    Josh snatched the phone from me. "You're an asshole, Nelson." I didn't quite make out Brian's response, but he was rolling when Josh passed the phone back to me.  
    "What?" I asked curiously.  
    "Not mine," Brian supplied, starting to laugh again.  
    I felt bad on some level, this was rude of us to laugh at Josh like this, but...  
    Josh gave me an amused look.  
    Joey curled up in the back seat.  
    Poor guy; I sighed as I calmed back down, looking back to the male again.  
    "Joey," Josh said calmly. "L has been my friend since we were preteens. She's not serious."  
    "I'm sorry," I said, studying his face. "I know Josh doesn't do that; it doesn't really have anything to do with you, either."  
    Joey frowned at me.  
    "What's wrong?" Brian asked happily.  
    "That mortified Joey," I explained. "I suppose he gets the short-end of the stick on the whole thing, since vampires are assholes."  
    Josh flipped me off as we crossed traffic.  
    Brian snickered.  
    Josh flashed me an amused look.  
    I grinned back, sighing as I watched the cars around us. "What does Ryan think?" I asked quietly. "About the veil?"  
    Brian started talking in the background again.  
    Josh frowned to me, his eyes indicating Joey again.  
    "What even happened?" I asked quietly.  
    "Ethan's been mistreating him since he grabbed Brian," Josh supplied in a tight voice. "Violence. He said he cried when he realized that his only way out was me."  
    And he'd still done it.  
    I frowned as I considered that. I knew that this could be a white ploy, Ryan had explained to me more about the white court than Josh ever had. I'd always known Josh was manipulative because of his family, but it hadn't meant more than that. In retrospect, Josh didn't do half as much as the other members seemed to...which worked in with the fact of his parentage. Bringing attention to himself would be bad.  
    I considered that a long time, then looked back to Josh. He had that little frown, the one that meant he was thinking, too. When he met my eyes, I knew he agreed with me.  
    Regardless of what Ethan was doing, Joey had genuinely left him. Joey was not part of any of those manipulations, and I knew for a fact that Ethan had been less than pleased with the buck when he'd found us at the hotel.  
    Joey was not knowingly part of anything.  
    Josh sighed, looking away.  
    "What?" Joey asked tiredly.  
    "Nothing," Josh said quietly. "What do you want for supper? We're almost back to the hotel."  
    "I have a frozen pizza," I offered, looking over my shoulder at the male with a grin.  
    "One pizza?" Josh demanded, giving me an exasperated look.  
    I nodded happily at him.  
    Josh _rolled_ his eyes.  
    I laughed.  
    "Ry says no idea," Brian informed me. "He listed off about twenty other creatures who could use veils, so you weren't necessarily facing a mortal. He also said he'll buy Gable a cow if he flies you here, so let me call Hoc."  
    "What?" Josh asked blankly, looking around to me.  
    I started laughing, ending the call and considering things.  
    "Did he just say he'd buy a cow?" Josh pressed.  
    "Yep, kine," I agreed happily.  
    Josh started laughing, groaning as we turned into the hotel's parking lot.  
    I watched the building as we moved through the lot. Seeing it brought me a little emotional skip, because for all that the first time we were here, it'd been shit, the last time had been for the ball. That had ended up with Ryan and I rolling around in bed together repeatedly.  
    I smirked slightly.  
    Josh sighed tiredly.  
    "What?" Joey asked blankly, looking between us.  
    "My wizard said he'd buy the dragon a cow to fly me to his place," I supplied.  
    Joey blinked at me.  
    "Right?" I asked happily. "Pick it apart," I urged happily. "I'm being chased by a vampire and saved by a dragon, one of my best friends is an ex-bartender, and he's hanging out with wizards."  
    "...and the wizard is going to buy the dragon a cow," Joey said carefully. "The, uh, bartender doesn't fit."  
    Josh blinked. "I think I smell copper."  
    I started laughing happily.  
    "And you're being saved by a vampire, too," Josh added, pouting at me.  
    "That just makes the listing complicated," I shrugged. "It's true, but doesn't streamline so well. I decided that I'm in a coma," I added to Joey.  
    "Solipsism, huh?" Joey asked, smirking slightly.  
    I gave him a curious look.  
    "The only thing that you know is real is you," he supplied. "So everything else is part of your imagination."  
    I grinned at that. "The fact that there's a name for that strikes me as terrible."  
    "Did you make it up yourself?" Joey asked brightly.  
    I laughed again.  
    "Come on," Josh sighed as he parked. "Let's get inside."  



	4. Chapter 4

#### Chapter Four

 ***Josh**  
    I left L and Joey in the hotel room and ran into town, telling them it was for food. Joey had relaxed as they chatted, and I had some thinking to do. It was remarkably easy to be around L again, but we both snapped with one wrong word. It was frustrating, though at least I wasn't Hungry. I had fed off the male before going to meet with L, because I had thought I'd have to fight someone.  
    I'd looked to see what restraints Ethan had put on him. There hadn't been any.  
    With everything I knew and had observed, I had a distinct feeling that Joey really had left Ethan; I was no closer to knowing if Ethan had purposefully pushed him away, though. So where did a veiled man come in? What was the point of telling L she should have stayed home before disappearing? It worked as a scare tactic for sure, but what else?  
    I frowned as I parked at Secrets, taking a moment to check my appearance. I slid from the car and moved through the parking tower. I wanted to see if Will had heard anything. He was Brian's replacement, and I'd found that the new bartenders at the club were useful, even before Brian had shown up; they heard a lot of gossip and knew who they could safely circulate it with.  
    I felt the pull and excitement of the bodies teaming the club, stepping onto the dance floor itself as my personal song thrummed through the audience. I spotted a few women who'd definitely be worth talking to as I moved, but focused. I had to keep myself on task.  
    I moved to the bar, studying Will's blond hair briefly. Last I'd seen him, it'd been a brown color with random color splats in it.  
    "Josh!" he greeted me, leaning forward. "What are you doing here?"  
    "Looking for information," I supplied, turning to look the club over as the music went back to normal.  
    ...to see Ethan at the bottom of the stairs, staring at me.  
    I laughed wickedly, turning back to my bartender and making a gesture.  
    He blinked at me, then went about making up a drink. "What kind of information?"  
    "Ethan is coming," I said. "Don't be too friendly or he'll make your life hell."  
    Will gave me a confused look.  
    "What did you do to your hair?" I added as I passed him my card.  
    "You don't like it?" he protested happily, focusing on the till. "I thought you'd like it."  
    I'd never once shown any interest in blonds.  
    I snorted at him.  
    He smirked back at me, then directed the smirk over my shoulder.  
    "I'm going to take all your little bucks," Ethan stated as he slid next to me at the bar. "One by one, devour them."  
    "All my bucks?" I asked with interest. "How many do you think I have?"  
    "Ooh, don't think I forgot Brian," he said in a low voice, leaning into the bar to study me. "I'll find him. I'll take Joey back...and any other little buck you've ever touched."  
    I smirked at him, taking the drink and card back without looking at Will. "I'm sort of at a loss, cousin. How many bucks do you think I've taken?"  
    "I'll figure it out," Ethan stated, his eyes going back to the crowd. "Starting with him."  
    I turned to look at a random male in the crowd, confused. I had no idea who he was. "Who is that?" I asked. "Your replacement for Joey?"  
    "Should be," he smirked at me, his teeth seeming overly white. "I wonder if he'd beg as much as Brian."  
    I downed my drink, considering my cousin with as much disinterest as I could manage. I wasn't sure what he was trying to do, so not reacting was probably the best protection I could give some random kid I didn't know.  
    "Is Joey alright?" Ethan demanded, the smirk turning into a glare. "What did you say to make him go with you?"  
    "I didn't say anything," I protested. "He came to _me_ ; he said you've been scaring him and came to me."  
    Ethan stared at me.  
    "Who is the man that approached L?" I asked curiously.  
    He gave me the same blank look, then smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know?"  
    He didn't know.  
    I stared at him as my stomach clenched, pulling my phone out and dialing L.  
    Her phone kept ringing.  
    "What?" Ethan demanded, narrowing his eyes at me. "What are you doing?"  
    "Damn it," I hissed, moving away from my cousin. I waited until I was in the foyer to dial Joey, my heart starting to race.  
    "Hello?" Joey asked distantly.  
    "What's going on?" I asked. "Where is L?"  
    "He threw me," Joey said distantly. "My head hurts...and my leg."  
    _Damn_.  
    "I don't feel good," Joey muttered.  
    I made a noise of frustration, ending the call as I climbed into my car. I hadn't expected that I'd ever have to do it, but I paged through my contacts until I found Gable Bui's number.  
    "Little vampire?" Bui's voice was curious. "I'm under the impression I'm taking Miss L and your buck to LA. I'm getting ready to go."  
    "Something happened," I snapped back, starting to drive.  
    "What's wrong?" Bui asked sharply.  
    I shook my head, pulling onto the road. "I can't get L, and Joey said someone came in and shoved him down. He's in my suite at your hotel."  
    Bui started giving instructions to someone on his end as I turned out of the lot to see Ethan at the top of the stairs. He raised both arms into the air in a wordless demand.  
    I dialed Brian as I sped through the city, taking a few moments to let him know what had happened...which led to a series of curses that impressed me. It didn't take long for me to pull into the hotel lot, and I slowed as I started into the building.  
    Did I go up to my suite or should I talk to the front desk?  
    "This way," one of the employees said quickly, moving to grab my wrist.  
    I followed him through an employee only door as my stomach clenched, then into a surveillance room. A few of the security guards were watching a clip...of a man I'd never seen moving through the hall outside my suite. I watched in horror as he caressed the lock and mouthed something, and the room's door opened. It took a few moments before he remerged with L struggling under one arm, then looked past her to the camera. He smirked very slowly, then raised a hand.  
    The camera feed cut.  
    "What the hell," one of the security guys complained.  
    My stomach had clenched entirely.  
    "It's been what, ten minutes?" someone else demanded. "See if we got him on any other cameras..."  
    The employee who'd grabbed me at the door pulled me after him through the halls into what looked like an employee lounge, and I realized that Joey was sitting there with an ice pack pressed to his neck.  
    He looked up to me, tears spilling down his face as he tried to stand.  
    "No," I muttered quickly, moving to sit next to him and pull him into a hug. "Just relax."  
    "I couldn't stop him," he said, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I tried to stop him..."  
    "Yes, he was big," I reassured him, pulling him under my arm. "Are you alright?"  
    "I couldn't help," he hissed at me. "I wanted to..."  
    "His leg is weak," an Asian woman noted as she moved into the room with a first-aid kit in one hand. "It looks like it was kicked, he got a pretty bad knock to the head, but we weren't sure if you wanted him taken by ambulance or not."  
    "I have a doctor," I reassured her, swallowing hard as I thought fast. I dialed the doctor, one my family had on retainer, and gave him the hotel's address and a quick explanation.  
    The door opened again, and Bui himself entered.  
    "Gong Bui," the woman smiled slightly at him.  
    Gong Bui?  
    I wondered what that meant as I met eyes with the dragon and ended my call.  
    "What is happening?" Bui demanded, dismissing the other woman with a wave of the hand.  
    She disappeared.  
    Joey was starting to shake under my arm.  
    "I'm not sure," I muttered, rubbing at my face. "I thought this was because my cousin...but when I was talking to him just now, he had no idea who'd accosted L."  
    Bui narrowed his eyes, looking to Joey. "This is the young man you held here against his will previously, correct?"  
    "Yes, but he asked to stay with me this time."  
    Bui _rolled_ his eyes.  
    I seemed to have that effect on people. Some might find it offensive.  
    "I'm running this man through facial recognition, but he seems to be a wizard," Bui noted, crossing his arms. "I don't know if he'll be on file or not, considering the phenomena of...tech gremlins."  
    I blinked, meeting his eyes.  
    He looked amused.  
    "Considering that Miss L has disappeared," he added, rubbing at his face. "It is my thought that I should take the lad to LA," he indicated Joey, "and bring back the wizard."  
    I blinked at him, trying to work out a response.  
    "Would you be able to work with him?" Bui snapped, narrowing his eyes at me. "I understand that Miss L has chosen him as her mate, and assume you'll be less happy to work with him."  
    "At this point, that doesn't matter," I noted dryly. "Because he'll come to rescue L regardless of what I think or say."  
    His phone started ringing.  
    "Brian?" Bui asked, focusing immediately.  
    "Ryan can't fight right now," Brian said without preamble. "His injuries aren't healed enough for that; Kevin is on his way. I found a flight that's pretty much leaving as we speak, so it'll take about an hour for him to reach McCarran."  
    I blinked at that.  
    "Am I still to bring the young man?" Gable asked blankly. "I was looking forward to that cow."  
    Brian made an unhappily amused noise. "Gable, I can't think right now...what happened to L?"  
    Bui frowned, glancing toward me and Joey. "Sorry. Hoc is looking into it. I've got the vampire and that buck right here, though."  
    "Does he know what's happening?"  
    "It's not Ethan," I supplied.  
    Joey blinked at me.  
    Bui tilted his head at me.  
    "It's not Ethan," I repeated. "I asked him who accosted L, and his response...it wasn't him."  
    "Can you hear him?" Bui asked.  
    "Yes," Brian said, then went quiet for a moment. "What do we do?"  
    "I've got Hoc looking into it," Bui repeated. "Arkady is here with me, securing the young vampire's suite. Once that's done, we'll have a base of operations. I've got my security teams coming here, I set up a group in your apartment, and I believe Hoc has put tracking dogs in the hotel."  
    Brian made a noise. "I used your card for Kevin. I'm sorry, but I had..."  
    "That's perfectly fine," Bui reassured him. "I told you that it was for emergencies, and I believe this counts as one."  
    I hadn't even thought to set up security teams.  
    I pulled Joey closer to my side as I considered the list of things Bui had done without seeming thought. Security for Brian's apartment, extra security at the hotel...and even Arkady to secure my room. The tracking dogs seemed like a step above and beyond, though.  
    There was a knock at the door and Bui stepped over to pull it open. His body language was confused, though, and I caught a familiar scent. I stood, looking around the dragon to Dr. Samuels.  
    "He's for me," I said quickly.  
    Bui nodded, gesturing the man and the same woman as before in.  
    Dr. Samuels moved up to look me over, then glanced down at Joey and frowned.  
    "He's been injured," I supplied, stepping back slightly.  
    "What did you do?" the man asked dryly as he kneeled down next to Joey and considered his face.  
    "Why in the world would I call you to this hotel if I did it?" I asked dryly. "Why wouldn't I have gotten you up to my suite, anyway?"  
    The man gave me a skeptical look, then focused on Joey.  
    "Who is that?" Bui asked, blinking.  
    "A doctor my family has on retainer," I supplied. "He's specifically with my mother."  
    Bui nodded, saying something into the phone.  
    I shifted back to watch as the man talked to Joey, then looked around as I waited.  
    "Ryan asks you to call him," Bui noted, blinking at me.  
    I blinked back at him, then pulled my phone out and moved to the far side of the room to dial the wizard.  
    "If this isn't your cousin, who is it?" Ryan asked immediately.  
    "I have no idea," I muttered, rubbing at my face. "I'm at a loss. Who else would fixate on her? Your enemies, it seems to be a wizard."  
    "My enemies aren't wizards," Ryan noted dryly. "My enemies are vampires and ghouls...the siren here in town."  
    "...a siren?" I asked blankly. "Is that real?"  
    "Oh yeah, she tried to collect me years ago so I hamstringed her; Bui sent Brian to collect a tribute from her, and we ended up fully enclosing her. She can't collect more men."  
    I hesitated a long moment. I'd only heard of them in context of greek mythology. "Could it be that?" I asked. "If she hates you..."  
    "I suppose it could be, but she'd be more apt to send mortals to my house to shoot me."  
    "Who else?" I demanded. "What other enemies do you have?"  
    He laughed a distinctly cold laugh. "Poppit, think about that a moment."  
    I glared across the room. Ryan had fought more creatures than I could count. My lifetime kills had topped out at three. Ryan had fought in the war, and he ran around doing things for the wardens en masse. Sadly, tracking my enemies was like making a shopping list...I had a feeling that tracking his would be like writing a book.  
    "What enemies do you have that would focus on your girlfriend?" I asked, feeling my jaw tighten.  
    He was quiet a long moment. "It's hard to say," he muttered finally. "Only someone who'd been tracking me would know she existed. I don't have many who would care that much, and...I don't have enemy wizards. I suppose it could be a warlock."  
    "What's the difference?" I asked blankly.  
    "Warlocks are the ones that we behead," he supplied.  
    ...the way he said it made me feel cold inside.  
    The door to the room opened and a vaguely familiar man appeared with a folder of papers in hand, passing them to Bui. As he did so, Arkady followed with a huge black dog at his side. The animal went directly up to Joey, who was flinching back hard, and then turned _snarling_ on me when I went to reassure the male.  
    Arkady snapped a command in a language I assumed was Russian, and the dog settled into a waiting stance with his teeth bared as he watched me. His head was low, and his hackles were raised.  
    I stared back at the animal, furious. It would back down from me, but I didn't make a habit of hurting the pets of my allies.  
    Bui was looking through the file and ignoring the rest of us completely.  
    Arkady snapped something else, and the dog glared at me a moment longer, then turned and stalked back to Arkady's side.  
    "Vampire," Arkady said in an irritated tone, "the dog only attacks threats."  
    I turned my attention onto him briefly, then moved to sit next to Joey.  
    "What's your master doing?" Arkady demanded of Joey, moving up to us.  
    "What?" Joey asked uncertainly.  
    "Your master," Arkady repeated. "Why did he take the girl?"  
    Joey blinked at him in confusion.  
    Bui reached the last page, then made a low growling sound...that felt more psychic than physical.  
    My instant instinct was submission, and I focused on the creature as the dog rolled onto it's back to show the dragon his belly. The woman fell instantly to her knees, and Dr. Samuels froze entirely as he waited.  
    "What's going on?" Ryan demanded.  
    I'd forgotten we were even on the phone.  
    "Why is he growling like that?" Ryan persisted.  
    Bui's eyes raised to me as he shifted his phone in hand. "The man is Enzo Durand," he stated in a cold voice. "A mercenary working for a woman who has long sought vengeance."  
    I blinked at him as the man behind him started rubbing at his face.  
    "So...this is your fault?" I asked carefully.  
    "What did he say?" Ryan demanded.  
    "Is it my fault the sun rises?" Bui snapped at me, his eyes going flinty. I could hear Brian start talking in the background.  
    "Don't make him mad," Ryan said quickly. "Bry says don't make him mad."  
    I considered that as the people who worked for Bui all focused on me.  
    "I've spent the last twenty minutes berating myself for making another mistake," I noted pointedly as I studied the dragon. "For being wrong...for making the wrong choice."  
    "It has nothing to do with you," Bui snapped, turning to pace away.  
    "That's what I was asking," I said carefully, watching him. "What do we do?"  
    "Retrieve the girl," Bui glared at me. "Because Luli will not be pleased."  
    Luli?  
    I blinked at the name, wondering if I'd misheard him, or if it had greater significance to anyone else. Arkady looked perplexed, but the other man...that had to be Hoc. He was rubbing tiredly at his face.  
    "How do we retrieve her?" I asked, rising carefully. I shifted so Dr. Samuels and Joey were behind me. Bui's agitation had risen to the point that Arkady had shifted back to the door and his dog had gone. Hoc was the only one who seemed unfazed, but I didn't really believe that.  
    Bui turned to look at me in an oddly serpentine gesture, then smiled with his overly large mouth. "By going and getting her," he said pointedly.  
    "Brian says to stop," Ryan said urgently. "Josh, whatever you're doing..."  
    Bui moved up to me, taking my phone and ending the call. He shoved the phone back into my chest, leaning forward slightly. "Luli will contact me for ransom or a boast any time now," he said quietly. "Hoc will find where she's staying, and you will take the wizard from the plane and go find her. I will work what stall I can with Luli, but be aware that she will quite happily eat Ella Simone's _heart_."  
    I felt my stomach tighten into a knot, staring back at him.  
    He leaned in to my ear. "If you bring me the egg," he whispered, "I will provide you with anything your heart desires."  
    What?  
    He turned away without meeting my eyes, storming out the door. I watched him go, meeting eyes with Hoc...who looked terrified. He turned to dart after the dragon.  
    Arkady looked between us, then met my eyes.  
    "What?" I asked out loud.  
    "What did he say?" Arkady asked, then hesitated and disappeared as well.  
    I watched after them in confusion, then turned to look down at Joey and Dr. Samuels. The woman was still crouched down where she'd kneeled, and I wondered if anyone but me had even noticed her presence.  
    I leaned down next to her, resting an arm on her back. She looked up to me with tears trailing down her face, then threw herself at me. My instant response was to try and suppress myself, and I realized that...I hadn't been calling her at all. She wasn't clinging to me because of my darker nature...she was actually seeking comfort.  
    It was a strange moment for me, as she started sobbing into my shoulder. I rocked her gently as I felt her heart starting to resettle. Finally, she pulled away and rose, moving quickly to a napkin dispenser to blow her nose.  
    I frowned, looking back to Dr. Samuels and Joey. They were both watching me. A moment later, I jumped hard as something cold nudged my shoulder...turning to look at that damn dog. It wagged its tail at me, licking at my face.  
    "Ah, stop," I shoved it off, toppling onto my rear.  
    Joey laughed a little uncertainly, which brought the animal's attention to him. It started licking his face.  
    "Well," Dr. Samuels stood carefully, backing away. "I don't think anything that's wrong with him will take more than a few days of rest."  
    I nodded, rising as well and accepting the napkins the woman passed me with a slight smile. She disappeared before I could even tell her thanks, and I took a moment to wipe my face off.  
    "If it still hurts him the day after tomorrow, bring him into my office so I can get scans," Dr. Samuels rubbed his hands together. "And I don't mean if it aches, I mean if it's still as bad as it is now. I don't want any further part in this."  
    I nodded, gesturing for him to leave.  
    He hesitated a few steps past me, tossing me a small bottle. "Those are for him."  
    I watched him go, then looked down to see the label.  
    High end pain killers.  
    I blinked at that, then looked to Joey as he smiled slightly at me.  
    "Right," I muttered, passing him the bottle. "You don't abuse things like this, do you?"  
    He blinked at me, looking down to the bottle and making a face. "I actually...I don't like them."  
    I gave him a curious look.  
    He looked down. "If I had to take them, then Ethan would..."  
    I huffed, sitting down next to him as the dog yawned and stretched out across our feet.  
    A moment later, Hoc reappeared. He had a file in his hand, and gave me a scared look.  
    "What's wrong?" I asked, rising.  
    "Luli is bad news," he supplied passing me the papers. "And...did he tell you to bring back the egg?"  
    "He said he'd give me my heart's desire if I did," I tilted my head at him. "What is the significance of it."  
    "It's a significant _danger_ ," he supplied. "If you take that egg, she'll label you an enemy."  
    "Who is she?" I asked blankly, opening the folder and reading the opening paragraph with a sinking knot in my stomach.  
    "This is the file I have on her," he supplied, indicating the papers. "I'm working on locating her now. I think it's about time for you to hit the airport for the wizard."  
    "I don't know where I'm going, so what's the point?" I retorted, gesturing at Joey. "Besides, what about him?"  
    "I will take care of him," the man retorted. "Because at this point, Luli has Ella Simone, and that means that she knows that Gable wants to mate with Ella."  
    I rubbed at my face as the information I'd read sank in. "She's a god," I said quietly.  
    "Goddess, actually," Hoc pointed out. "And she's not very well known. Her home city still has a shrine in her honor, and that's why she's not dead."  
    I blinked at that, looking up to him in disbelief.  
    "I swear to you that I will see to the safety and comfort of your buck," the man stated, narrowing his eyes at me. "I will treat him as kin until you've returned, and if something happens to you, Gable will be sure he's kept safe."  
    And there it was.  
    Was I really the only person they could call on? That struck me as sad and terrifying...and even less appealing, considering that I didn't have 'the destroyer' to help...I had Kevin.  
    "Go," Hoc ordered, moving around me and offering an arm to Joey.  
    I turned and ran my hand along Joey's throat, meeting his eyes. He let out a relieved sort of sigh as he dropped his head back, and I turned toward the door...to see Hoc staring at me, frozen.  
    I watched him a long moment, realizing my eyes must be silver. I'd have gone cold, too. I brushed past him and into the hall.  
    "Be careful," Joey said as I reached the door. "Be...careful."  
    I turned to flash him a smile, then headed for my car. The only other person who'd ever actually cared about me had been Ella. It was easier to consider that than the fact that I was supposed to somehow fight a goddess, who'd otherwise eat Ella's heart.  
    "Sir?"  
    I turned at the female voice, blinking at the Asian woman who'd been crying on me.  
    She darted up to me, grabbing my arm and...tying a red ribbon around my wrist. She wrapped my hand in both of hers as she met my eyes. "This will help protect you," she said, resting a hand briefly over my heart, then turned back to the building.  
    Okay then.  
    I considered the ribbon as I headed outside studying the little gold placard. It looked like it had been mass produced, but it had a genuine patina on it.  
    I slid into my car, buckling and lifting the phone to my ear as it started ringing.  
    "Josh, be _careful_ ," Brian sounded almost like he was crying. "I don't know what you can do...this is dangerous!"  
    "He said she might kill Ella," I pointed out as I started out of the parking lot.  
    "And she was supposed to be his wife," Brian said. "He was just telling me. Before our country even existed, her family arranged for her to marry him...it's something about sacrifices and virginity...and she was made a living goddess in exchange for his protection. They never actually got married, but he's slept with her a thousand times or more."  
    I snorted at that, pulling onto the street.  
    "If she ever finds out he likes someone, she tries to kill them," Brian swallowed. "And Ryan told me that this sort of goddess can have powers that are similar to a wizard's...or be something extreme like the power of will."  
    I studied the charm on my wrist again, thinking about that. "What sort of city does she draw her magic from?"  
    "I don't know, Gable said the name has changed a thousand times or more."  
    "Is that his phrase?" I asked blankly.  
    "Either that or it changes every time they have sex," Brian agreed. "Hoc took the phone and told me to stop talking about it. Gable is furious...and when he gets angry, people get eaten."  
    I rubbed at my hair as I took another turn. "Well, I'm not sure what the hell we're doing next," I muttered.  
    "Kevin will need you to meet him," Brian muttered suddenly. "He did some sort of suppression spell on his power, but it takes a lot of focus. McCarran will overwhelm him. He's only got a carry-on."  
    I made a noise. "I'll figure out where he's coming in and meet him." I hesitated. "Is it bad that...I'm happy it wasn't me?"  
    Brian snorted at that, then made an unhappy noise. "Josh...it's a god."  
    "Yes," I said quietly, rubbing at my mouth as I thought. "But with any luck, the woman will have Ella protected by mortals."  
    "Luck," Brian echoed. "You're relying on luck."  
    "Well," I noted dryly. "I'm not sure what else I can rely on."  



	5. Chapter 5

#### Chapter Five

***Kevin**  
    I followed the crowd as I focused on my internal shields, my stomach still tight. It hadn't been a long flight, but there'd still been a number of little issues that had happened in the plane. I could probably let the spell go, but there was also the issue of...the lights everywhere. I followed the crowd through the terminals until we reached a set of stairs and escalators that led down to a sunken area. I stared around at the art displays, noticing some of the lights flickering. I focused again, slowing and stopping as I reached an enclosed area. Everyone was laughing and talking around me, and I watched as a train came up and stopped, opening so the crowd could enter.  
    Damn it.  
    I focused on the spell again, making sure my bag was still tight to my back as I grabbed a bar. I assumed that the mass of people knew where they were going.  
    The train ride seemed unnecessarily long to me, and I wondered if I looked sick. I had a few beads of sweat on my forehead.  
    What was I doing?  
    I groaned internally as I followed the people from the train into a wide hallway that looked like it had never been fully decorated. The path we were on led to some escalators, and I clenched my teeth as the entire crowd stopped on them.  
    They still started to jitter.  
    This was so frustrating...  
    I moved forward finally, pushing through people until the group finally got the hint and shifted to one side. I was getting sour looks as I moved onto the ground again, and I realized with some amusement that there were a number of people following me.  
    So...now where?  
    I looked around and felt my chest tighten when I saw him. The room in front of me was wide and long with luggage belts on either side. There was a second level above, and the walls were decorated with huge posters. _He_ was standing alone in the center of the hall, tall as I was with dark hair and...a black shirt on. There were women who were watching him openly on either side, but he was only watching me.  
    Creepy bastard had to know he set my nerves on edge.  
    He smirked at me, turning to start away.  
    I followed wordlessly as the women muttered together. I'd had a brief exposure to the heat between the plane and the building, but I was not _expecting_ the heat. It almost took my breath away as we moved onto a sidewalk.  
    "So," he said when we'd started into a parking garage. "The revelation is that this is Bui's ex-wife."  
    I stopped.  
    He flashed me a wicked smirk, turning and heading through the garage.  
    "You're not serious," I protested. "This was supposed to be your cousin."  
    "As far as we knew," he agreed, hands in his pockets as we neared his stupid Ferrari.  
    "I'm confused," I protested, digging out my staff from my bag. "What does that even mean?"  
    "Well, evidently it's some minor goddess," Josh supplied as he used the keys to unlock the machine.  
    I wondered if he hadn't gotten his fob replaced...or if he was just smart enough not to try it with me here.  
    Oh...yeah.  
    I let out a breath as I released the spell, watching as the lights throughout the garage flickered. I slid into the car, picking up a file from the passenger seat.  
    His phone started ringing.  
    "Yeah?" he asked, reversing immediately. He made a noise, starting to talk.  
    I left him to it, buckling and starting to read through the file.  
    The file was a profile for someone named Zhanghu Luli, and the picture provided was of a delicate and frail looking Asian woman. She was wearing the traditional looking dress, which covered her throat, and was entirely gorgeous except for one thing. Her eyes were cold as agates, twin pitiless voids that lacked the slightest hint of humanity.  
    I studied the image, then looked back to the write-up. It had some other name listed, and then a list of known powers.  
    Known powers?  
    I felt my stomach clench as Josh turned decisively.  
    _Known_ powers?  
    I flipped through a few pages before landing on one of a man. Enzo Durand. I'd seen a picture of him before, but I couldn't figure out from where. It wasn't from the wanted files from the council, but it probably had something to do with them. He was listed as a wizard with known air magic...they listed his abilities off in a way that suggested mortals, but what it said to me was air.  
    So...I had to go in and treat him like a warlock.  
    "We need a fallback," I muttered, looking up at a gas station we were driving past. "Somewhere near enough to get to, but far enough away to be out of range."  
    "We have to find the complex," Josh retorted.  
    I indicated the gas station, meeting his eyes pointedly, then focused back on the files. He didn't get what I was saying, and I needed to memorize as much as I could. I didn't set them down again until we entered a residential neighborhood.  
    "Hex it down," Josh ordered me as we stopped at the gate.  
    "That could just lock it in place," I pointed out.  
    "No, the power cuts and they automatically open; at least all the ones I've dealt with."  
    I stared at him, then leaned over him to focus on the keypad that was flashing for us to enter a pin. I focused on it, trying not to let the hex hit the stupidly pretty car. I was also aware of a seeping cold from the vampire.  
    The keypad dimmed and fizzled, then the word 'error' flashed across the screen. Both the entry and exit gates opened.  
    "Thank you," Josh said seriously, starting forward again without looking at me.  
    "Why are you cold?" I asked pointedly.  
    "Because I'm getting ready for the fight," he met my eyes briefly as he turned and headed into the area.  
    "Do I need to worry about this?"  
    "You aren't food, wizard," he pointed out, parking in the empty row. "So, the house is that," he pointed to the first of the inner houses behind us. "And according to Hoc, she actually paid to have a basement blown from the caliche. The house doesn't look like it has a basement, so we're probably looking for a trap door. He found a private jet that landed here a while back, and from what he could find, she shouldn't have more than ten people with her."  
    I nodded, pulling my bag open and digging out my blasting rod.  
    "I should grab the dildo," he noted in amusement.  
    I turned to _look_ at him.  
    He laughed wickedly, glancing back to the house. "Don't tell me that wouldn't be hilarious, you with your tackle," he indicated the rod. "Me with mine..."  
    "Why do I think you're not taking this serious enough?" I muttered more to the windshield than him.  
    He laughed, then took a long slow breath and closed his eyes. "I don't fight. I can move fast, I can hit hard, but I have no training. I'm relying on you for that. I can direct three mortals at a time, control them entirely in pairs or singles. When we get more than four it turns into open season on me...that's what I know."  
    I blinked at him, trying not to let any mental images form.  
    "I need you to make me a path," he said seriously. "And I'll tell you because I'm not sure what it means...but Bui told me that if I got the egg, he'd give me my heart's desire. I assume the deal extends to you."  
    "What egg?" I asked blankly, then realized what it most likely meant. His ex-wife, her attacking his lovers...  
    It was most likely _his_ egg, _his_ child.  
    That idea made my stomach tighten again as I looked around to the vampire.  
    "I have no more an idea than that," he stated, frowning slightly. "And Hoc said that taking the egg would mean this woman will label us enemies."  
    I nodded, taking a long breath and considering what he'd said.  
    "Right," I muttered. "I'll go first and hex the electronics. That wizard has some air magic, and we already know he has veils. If I get caught up with him, if he's here, I'll have to focus on that. I can't think of a way to get around him without more of us. Otherwise, I'll do the loud noises and explosion sort of things that tend to confuse mortals. You take any openings you see, keep your eyes open; I can't promise that I'll have your back since we don't know what we're actually facing."  
    He nodded, thinking. "They said they'd look after Joey. If something happens to me...can you make sure of that?"  
    I blinked, meeting his eyes briefly and nodding.  
    He let out a breath, then slid out of the car.  
    I followed suit, noticing that he dropped the keys in the windshield.  
  
  
 ***L**  
    It'd taken me a while to realize that these people didn't have anything to do with Josh and his cousin.  
    I stared across the little room I was in, my heart pounding. I'd spent the first twenty minutes explaining to that wizard that I'd broken up with Josh, and he seemed to find that hilarious. He'd happily noted that he didn't know who I was talking about, but I could tell him about the sex if I felt graphic.  
    Not the most reassuring of responses.  
    It'd taken another ten minutes after that for a woman to appear; she looked sickly and frail. She was Asian and wearing a blue dress that was traditionally Chinese or something, and included random veils along her arms. It would have been great on a stage or at a ball or something, but on her thin frame in this very western house, it just seemed out of place.  
    She'd come to see me, staring me over in disgust, then grabbed my chin as she studied my eyes. She'd told me that she was going to eat my heart, Konghaibui didn't want that anyway.  
    It made me cold.  
    I'd never heard 'Konghai' before, but everyone called the dragon Bui...and she was right that he didn't want my heart. He'd made it clear that romance wasn't required to bear him a child, but he'd be willing to cultivate it if I required that.  
    I rubbed at my face, starting to rock where I sat.  
    The woman had looked me over in something like disgust, then spun and left the room, leaving some flowery scent in her wake. The wizard had smirked as he looked me over, then followed her out and locked the door behind him.  
    I wondered if they realized that I could unlock that door if I was given something long and narrow. It was a normal bedroom door that had been turned around so the mechanism was outside...but I was locked in, right?  
    I snorted, moving over to the door and reaching up to touch the spot over the jamb...and almost gagged on a hysterical giggle as I pulled down one of those silly little keys...the kinds so a resident could unlock a mistakenly locked bathroom door.  
    They'd left it inside.  
    I tucked that into my bra, as I composed myself, moving away from the door as I listened. I could hear the woman's raised voice, but it was an Asian language. She was pacing, too, and after a few minutes the male replied. He started talking quickly, and things fell silent.  
    I looked out the window, wondering if the idiots had left the emergency key for the bars there as well, but then spotted the sensor that would beep if the window were opened.  
    Were they...  
    The noise changed, and I realized that they were having sex. I could hear the female's voice clearly through the walls.  
    Right, no time like the present.  
    I moved to the door and pulled the key out, popping the lock and listening intently. The noises continued, so I slid from the room and closed and locked it again. I put my stupid little key back in my bra, and turned to explore the large single level home I was in. It had marble floors, or stone or something, anyway. They weren't wood. The entire space was painted in a serene sort of theme. There was a large living area at the end of the hall, and instead of couches, it seemed to consist of chaise lounges. The walls were hung with curtains, and it looked fairly Asian, just in blues and grays.  
    So weird.  
    I turned to the first room there, noticing that it was mostly empty. There was a huge round bed in the center, and...a giant egg in the middle of it.  
    Well, why not? The house's décor seemed to be based on crazy-lady syndrome, so why not have an egg as a centerpiece? I turned to leave the room, listening as the male's voice joined the female's.  
    That'd been what? Three minutes?  
    I shook my head on a snicker, moving to the kitchen and considering the door that most likely led to the garage. The whole problem of me getting out of this place was that all the doors to the outside would have those beepers.  
    So it suggested to me that I give the pair of lovers a moment to be deeply in their moment...and go.  
    I darted out the door, trusting to the coupling to hide the noise. The garage I was in had a door toward the front, and I moved to it, listening intently.  
    City noise...barking dogs. Nothing.  
    I pulled the thing open and stepped out...into a man's back.  
    There were two of them there, and they both turned to _look_ at me.  
    Damn it!  
    I turned to run inside again, swearing when one grabbed me and started yelling at me. He was evidently not impressed with my breakout attempt, storming back into the house and yelling for...Luli? What the hell sort of name was that.  
    It took a moment for the little Asian woman to appear again, her face slightly flushed and her hair mussed. She stared at me in open shock, then spun around to the male with anger clearly written on her face.  
    "Damn it," he snapped, pulling his shirt back on and moving to grab me by the arm, glaring at me.  
    I started laughing in spite of myself, biting my lip to keep from commenting. He hadn't zipped his trousers back up, and the woman's skirt was stuck in her underwear behind her. They looked like a surprised pair of newlyweds.  
    The woman moved up to me, her eyes like glass as she started blushing.  
    "Fix your skirt," I said, meeting her eyes.  
    She looked, gasping slightly as she pulled it out of her panties so it fell properly again, then spun...and slapped me hard.  
    My little sister had slapped me harder than that when we were kids playing.  
    I sobered to keep from angering her more, looking back to the man. "Be careful not to get the hair caught."  
    He stared at me blankly, then glanced down as well. He huffed at me, turning to yank me back to the bedroom. He threw me into it, locking it carefully and trying to test that lock...before locking it again.  
    I started laughing to myself, realizing that the pair of leaders might be idiots, but they had the exits guarded. How did I deal with that?  
  
  
 ***Josh**  
    I could hear a pair of people arguing as we neared the house, and watched as Kevin moved purposefully around me to a man standing at the garage. He smiled brightly at the man...and _did_ something. I felt the power in the air as the man fell like a pile of wood to the floor.  
    Kevin snorted, stepping through the door into a garage. I wanted to look the perimeter over so we knew what we were dealing with, but he vanished inside. I heard someone else fall, and moved quickly to catch up with him.  
    The woman stopped arguing.  
    A second man had fallen in the center of the garage, and Kevin was already at the house door.  
    What the crap?  
    I moved quickly after him as an alarm system beeped that a door had been opened, looking around...to see the woman from the picture standing in the center of the room all of her attention on Kevin...and the wizard starting to gesture.  
    The house's threshold felt spider-web thin, the people in it didn't think of it as a home. Whatever Kevin was doing almost seemed to make it melt out of existence.  
    The woman _swore_ , straightening and raising her hands into the air. The sensation of their powers meeting made an odd sound throughout the house, like doors were closing or opening. People were converging on us from all directions...as the woman lifted one hand...and it started to glow.  
    Damn!  
    I dived forward, interposing myself between her and Kevin as he did something to the wizard. Something across the room slammed to the floor, shattering as the woman gasped at me in shock.  
    She looked...frail. She wasn't frail, she was healthy, but she looked delicate and about to break.  
    Wasn't that an odd idea for a goddess?  
    I caught her wrist as something flared from her hand...and sank into the little charm on my wrist.  
    Her mouth rounded into a shocked o, and her eyes raised to mine.  
    She was decidedly female.  
    I relaxed my safeguards, realizing that this little fight was right up her alley. Her fantasies had an element of fight to them, of being overtaken.  
    This could not be this easy, could it?  
    I moved in baring her throat to my mouth so she swooned in my arms, then nearly fell on top of her as someone hit me from behind. I let her drop onto one of the chaise lounges, turning to block the man who was trying to hit me upside the head with a bat.  
    Chaos reigned as items across the main room fell and shattered, and as I watched, I saw L herself darting around the edges of it. I had to get the bat away from the asshole, and watched as light flared across the house from Kevin. It was somehow caught by the other wizard, before being thrown back at my ally. I dodged over and knocked him from the path of the flame, ducking my head down as he moved...and felt something from him fly _over_ my head, even as we hit the ground.  
    The other wizard swore, and I heard a crack. I shoved up to look, seeing that the other wizard was more than winded as he slid down a wall. He was still conscious though.  
    Kevin darted around me toward him, and I swore as that stupid bat-wielding buck came at me again.  
    Well, we all had our talents.  
    I caught his arm, flooding him with my power and watching as his fight left him entirely. That didn't stop the rest of the males around him, and the woman was sitting up and watching our fight in disbelief.  
    I let him fall, stepping over him toward the next set of males. I threw the first, then flinched back as Kevin did something to the second. It went directly by my face.  
    Where was L?  
    I looked around in dismay, realizing that we could get the girl and reverse out of here. My car being parked was probably not the best position to leave it in, but...  
    The woman came at me again, fury in her eyes. Kevin had engaged the remaining three males, and that wizard seemed to have passed out where he lay...or maybe he was dead.  
    The woman gestured at me, and a beautiful swath of green light flared at me, and I raised the little charm to block it, realizing that Bui's customer service sort of rocked. The thought seemed highly inappropriate, but I didn't have time to consider the ramifications of off-topic thoughts during a fight before I had the woman in my arms again, burying my hand in her hair as I happily started the seduction portion of the evening.  
    It was probably the most satisfying contest I'd ever had.  
    Kevin swore, then swore _at_ me.  
    "What?" I asked, looking back to him as she wrapped her legs around me as best she could with the skirt.  
    "Where is _L?_ " he retorted, glaring at me.  
    I blinked at him, then looked around...had it been my imagination?  
    "I'm here," L said, appearing from the first room that we hadn't actually gotten to investigate.  
    Kevin threw the male he'd been fighting, turning to look at her in disbelief.  
    "Wha...no!" the woman tore away from me, falling to the floor when I let her go. She scrambled up at L with fear in her bearing, and I caught her by the waist as I stared down at her in confusion.  
    "I'll _kill_ you!" she shouted, turning on me with the power in her hands again. I let her go to allow the charm to catch the power...and the metal turned _hot_. I swore, shaking my wrist...as the little charm with its red ribbon fell to the floor and shattered.  
    I stared down at it as she turned and tried to lunge at L again.  
    L squawked and disappeared back into the room. I followed, grabbing the woman again and wondering if she was susceptible to me because she'd started her life as a mortal. I'd never imagined a goddess would be a woman I could manhandle.  
    The fight took us both into that room...and I froze as I sensed an odd warmth radiating from a round bed in the middle of the room.  
    An egg.  
    _The_ egg.  
    I stared at it as the goddess darted across the room, lifting a silver blade from under the covers and raising it so we could see it. "If I can't have him," she said, "then he can't have any part of me."  
    L was _staring_ at the woman in disbelief, obviously not sure what was going on.  
    ...it was a heartbeat. That egg was pulsing a small heartbeat.  
    I darted forward, snatching the blade from the woman and toppling her to the mattress.  
    "Vampire, we need to get out!" Kevin snapped, ducking into the room and stopping entirely.  
    "No!" the woman snarled, trying to scramble for the blade. It had fallen a few feet away from us, just out of arm's reach.  
    " _Get it!_ " I snapped at L. " _ **Go!**_ "  
    " _ **No!**_ " the goddess' shriek was furious as she turned and tried to claw at my eyes.  
    L leaned over and picked up the egg, frowning between us, then turned to follow Kevin.  
    " _Now_ , vampire!" Kevin snapped. "Before they wake up!"  
    " _ **Go!**_ " I ordered him. "I can come after!"  
    "But..."  
    "Take the car!" I snarled.  
    He hesitated a moment longer, then turned and vanished.  
    The woman shrieked after them, but I focused on her throat. With her heightened emotions, it didn't take her long to lose her will to resist. Her eyes were full of tears as she focused one me again, her hands sliding into my hair.  
    Yeah, I wasn't that big an asshole.  
    I gave it a few minutes to be sure the damn wizard could get in my car and get away, then stood.  
    She was staring at me, obviously torn about protesting.  
    "Bui," I said. "Bui sent us."  
    Her eyes went hard.  
    I leaned in and kissed her deeply, then turned and followed the wizard. My car was gone, which was what I wanted...but it wouldn't take her long to recover and realize we'd just stolen her child. It was unborn, and she'd been about to kill it herself...but we had stolen her child.  
    I darted over the fence, running straight-on. I didn't let pesky things like property get in my way. I went as the crow-flies, realizing that...I knew the first fallback point. Kevin had said something about a meeting place, he'd gestured at it.  
    My car was about to pull out of the gas-station parking lot when I landed beside it and climbed in.  
    Kevin stared at me from the driver's seat, and I looked back to see L holding the egg with a pale face.  
    "We have _no_ time," I stated.  
    Kevin took off into traffic.  
    I shuddered as I tried to calm back down, my pulse was high and Kevin was watching me just as much as the traffic.  
    I'd fed on a goddess.  
    I wondered what layers of hell I was going to be in for this; I'd gone full-on thug for someone else, and I didn't even have a benefit from it. I saved someone else's girlfriend from a goddess who'd eat her heart.  
    "Josh?" L whispered at me.  
    "What?" I asked tightly.  
    "I...I want to sit with you."  
    "What do I do, vampire?" Kevin demanded, looking at me with fear in his eyes.  
    My urge to grab him to shut him up was not helpful. We pulled up to a stop light and I swallowed hard. "I can't do this," I stated. "I'll be to the hotel in a few hours, or call," I looked back to L.  
    "Just come back here," she suggested, indicating the back seat.  
    I laughed wickedly, noticing that Kevin was frowning. "I need out," I stated. "I'll meet you up at the hotel."  
    Kevin nodded.  
    I slid out of the car into the day's heat. I watched my car pull away when the light went green and realized that L had a point. It was a tan Ferrari. I needed to get it washed.  
    I turned down the first side street, taking a long slow breath. I had to regain control of myself, I was pretty sure we'd made our get away, so I could walk some of it off.  



	6. Chapter 6

#### Chapter Six

***Kevin**  
    It didn't take us long to pull into the hotel lot, and I realized I was shaking as I parked. The fight had been intense, that wizard had been closer to taking me down that I liked. I'd knocked out all of those men with a sleep spell Ryan and I had worked up for that sort of situation...and I realized that we'd have had an issue, Ry and I. That goddess would have been beyond our ability to easily handle. That was an unexpected benefit of the vampire's presence.  
    Bui was waiting for us at the building's entrance, and L was directly behind me. He looked concerned as he looked around, then froze entirely when L moved up to my side with the egg in her arms.  
    He let out a long slow breath as he moved forward and took it from her, spinning it carefully in his arms as he considered every angle of it, then pulled it closer to his chest with his eyes closed.  
    "What happened?" he asked finally.  
    "We got out," I supplied, pulling L to my side. She pressed her face into me, holding me tightly.  
    "And the vampire?" he asked, looking around.  
    "Coming along behind," I explained. "His powers worked on her, I put down the mortals and the wizard; I put them to sleep. He kept her too occupied to pursue. He met up with us for a bit, but his power was effecting me, so he decided to get out of the car."  
    Bui's eyes flashed with wicked amusement and he turned, gesturing for us to follow with his head. We did so, through an employee door. He led us through the halls to an elevator there, and used his pass to start the thing moving.  
    "What now?" I asked hesitantly, watching as he remained fixated on the egg. "I'm confused, why hasn't it hatched?"  
    "Luli is a water spirit," he supplied. "The babe is a fire spirit."  
    L focused on him.  
    "I'll have to heat it," he added, smiling up to us with excitement in his eyes. "I've been waiting to get it back for...so long now."  
    "Get it back?" L asked, leaning into me again.  
    "I do apologize," he said, looking between us. "The history is convoluted; suffice it to say that Luli was trying to finalize our marriage, but I've found us to be incompatible in the longer term. We've fought for this babe for ages now," he held it closer, closing his eyes. "I feel the heartbeat," he said, smiling at us again. "It won't be long now."  
    "Does this mean that you'll no longer pursue me as a baby-mama?" L asked, smiling slightly.  
    "If you'd like, I'll continue," he reassured her.  
    I started laughing, pulling her closer. She started laughing as well, pressing her face into my chest.  
    "Though I do worry about that vampire," he muttered, looking around as the elevator finally stopped. "I'll send Hoc to fetch him."  
    "He wasn't in control of himself at all," L noted quietly as we started into an unfamiliar hall. We stopped and waited for Bui to move past us, leading us toward another door. "It was actually scary. The only reason nothing came of it was because he realized it and got out of the car."  
    "Hoc can handle him in any capacity," Bui retorted.  
    "What did you just tell them?" the man demanded, stepping from the suite to glare at the dragon. He froze, though, staring at the egg.  
    Bui strutted into the suite, looking around. I followed, noticing that Joey was sitting on the couch and watching us enter in confusion. I could tell he was high, and he lowered his phone as he focused on the egg.  
    "I swear this stupid thing is refusing to connect with my phone," Arkady complained as he moved from a side room, then stopped and looked up at me. His eyes moved to L, then past him to Bui...and the egg.  
    "May I hold it?" Hoc demanded, moving around quickly to stroke the smooth surface.  
    "Not yet, I only just got it back," Bui complained, shifting the egg to his chest again as he smiled at Arkady.  
    "What...just happened?" Arkady asked blankly.  
    "Where is Josh?" Joey demanded, his voice slightly shrill.  
    "He's coming along behind," I said quickly, blinking at the young man. He looked genuinely scared. "He'll be here soon. He's safe."  
    I...felt...a little chirrup. A curious noise.  
    "Were you sleeping?" Bui asked, focusing on the egg again. "Hello, little one."  
    That psychic chirrup came again, excited. Bui wandered away from us as he talked to the egg, disappearing into the master bedroom.  
    Hoc looked between us.  
    "Um," I muttered, showing him the car keys. "He was saying he'd send you to find Josh. We told him Josh wasn't in control of himself, and he told us that you could handle him."  
    Hoc's eyes narrowed toward the bedroom, then he rolled his eyes and took the keys. "Where did you leave him?"  
  
  
 ***Josh**  
    I could hear a low thrum of humming as I moved up the hallway toward the hotel room. Hoc had went to order tea brought up, so I'd just used my key. He'd been wary of me when he finally found me, but had let me drive. I'd regained myself and actually started to regret letting the others leave, so I was glad he'd shown up.  
    "Josh!" Joey lunged up from the couch and nearly fell over.  
    "Easy," Bui stepped away from the balcony window, looking concerned as he half reached for the other.  
    I smiled at Joey, who was leaning against the table to support himself. He moved quickly across the room to me, though, hugging me.  
    "You alright?" I asked, looking past him to the dragon. "What happened?"  
    "I'm glad you're alright," Bui noted, focusing on me with the egg in his arms. He was holding it like a new father would hold a baby. "I was concerned when the others returned without you."  
    "It was a necessary distance," I noted, focusing on Joey and studying his eyes. "What's wrong?"  
    "I took the pills," he supplied. "I hurt a lot."  
    I nodded, frowning slightly at him. "What would Ethan do?"  
    "Hurt me more," he said distantly. "Bite more."  
    "So I can feed?" I asked. "It's not just that?"  
    He made a happy noise at me.  
    I focused on him a moment, feeling relieved as my Hunger diminished and faded away. Fighting had made things unbalanced, and Joey was a comforting weight to hold.  
    "Have you recovered, then?" Bui asked quietly.  
    "For now," I agreed, carrying the young man back to the couch—which made him almost giggle.  
    "What do you want?" he asked, indicating the egg. "In what way can I repay you?"  
    "I didn't actually do it," I noted. "It was L, in the end. I told her to grab it, and she carried it back herself."  
    He huffed.  
    "What?" I asked.  
    "That's what they both said," Joey supplied happily, situating himself in his corner of the couch again. "They both said it was you who made them take it and stopped that woman from stabbing it."  
    I saw the dragon's eyes darken briefly.  
    "So a group effort," I noted dryly. "We all took the egg because someone else told us to."  
    Joey snickered and started trying to situate a lap blanket on him again.  
    I snorted, taking the blanket and covering him carefully with it. It wasn't until he'd settled again that I realized I could relax.  
    Everything was okay.  
    Or was it?  
    "Where...are they?" I asked blankly, looking the suite over.  
    "Ran to the lounge for food," Bui explained, moving back over to sit in the chair. He situated the egg in his lap, then looked me over. "Well, I suppose I can say that I made you the offer, not them."  
    "But I made Kevin your offer for you," I grinned at him.  
    He considered it a long moment, then pulled out his phone.  
    "What?" I asked blankly.  
    He held up a finger for me to wait.  
    "Hello?" Brian asked. "What's wrong? Have you guys found Josh yet?"  
    "Yes, he's sitting here now," Bui reassured him. "He returned a few minutes ago and fed off his little buck, so now we're arguing about repayment."  
    I grinned at him.  
    "What did he tell you?" Brian asked. "The same as the others?"  
    "Yes," Bui agreed dryly. "So how do I sort it out? None of them want anything for it."  
    "You could give them all something," Brian suggested, sounding relieved. "Or just drop it and move on—if any of us had realized it was your child, we wouldn't have hesitated to get it. Let me talk to Josh."  
    "Call him yourself," Bui retorted, smiling briefly at me. "You need to give me a better answer than that."  
    "I don't have a better answer than that," Brian retorted.  
    I started laughing quietly, pulling my phone out and considering the series of text messages I'd been ignoring as I walked.  
    "Ethan told me he'd beg me to come back," Joey noted, lowering his phone to look at me. "He said that if we met up, he'd beg me."  
    "And you take that to mean?"  
    "That he'll lick me as soon as he can grab me and all hell will break loose," Joey made a face. "He means it now, then he'll get angry and that will be all."  
    I nodded, frowning as I considered everything.  
    "Bui," I said, looking up to him. "I know what you can repay me with."  
    Bui stopped talking, looking around to me curiously.  
    "This woman," I indicated the egg. "Make sure she doesn't come after the three of us."  
    He gave me a look, then focused on his phone. "He just told me to repay him with what I'm going to do anyway."  
    Brian started laughing.  
    "Oh, thank god," Ella's voice was relieved as she moved up behind me. "I was about to get really worried."  
    I smiled up at her, feeling a twinge of regret as Kevin followed her. They were both carrying trays of food.  
    She moved over to hug me carefully, then kissed my cheek before moving to sit on the table. "What happened? And was Hoc able to handle you?"  
    Bui started laughing wickedly.  
    " _What?_ " Hoc demanded as he entered the room with a tea service on a cart in front of him. "Why do I keep walking into areas to hear people talking about me?"  
    Ella smirked at him.  
  
  
 ***Brian**  
    Gable landed in the parking area next to the warehouse with the same almighty thud that had caused car alarms to go off. He was smiling at me, moving quickly forward to nuzzle at me. He thought it was great fun to knock me over with his exuberance, and when he _licked_ me, I started swearing at him.  
    He laughed, and a hot breeze stirred around us. ' _Well, get on_ ,' he turned and sank down so Ryan and I could climb onto him.  
    I didn't oblige, moving forward instead to touch the odd white spot in his chest. It hadn't been there before, and I assumed it had to be his _egg_. He had an _egg_...he was going to have a _baby_.  
    It was a bizarre notion, and I felt a quiver run through my arm.  
    ' _Brian,_ ' Gable explained to the small awareness. ' _This is Brian and his wizard_.'  
    My wizard, huh?  
    I smiled at my boss as that quiver kept floating around me. I felt it come close and blinked, realizing that it was trying to get a read on me...trying to know me in some way. It felt almost the same as I felt, curious and affectionate. A carbonated sensation like a giggle followed, and I blinked as I stepped back from Gable, looking up at me.  
    ' _You made her laugh!_ ' Gable breathed. ' _You made her laugh!_ '  
    "Was that what that was?" I asked, blinking. "And her?"  
    ' _I think so_ ,' he agreed, thinking about it. ' _It's hard to tell at this point, though_.'  
    I nodded, considering the spot a long moment, then turned to offer an arm to Ryan to help him on.  
    ' _I told Ella I'd stop pursuing her now_ ,' Gable noted to me with interest. ' _I will have to rescind the offer I made you_.'  
    "That's fine," I reassured him. "I stopped trying on it, and told you that, actually."  
    He laughed, nudging at me again  
    I turned to hug his head, realizing how simply happy he was. I took a moment to hook the luggage to the harness, then climbed carefully onto him. Ryan looked alarmed as we started to take off, but I sort of felt like that kid in that movie...the one with the luck dragon. I didn't whoop at the sky as we took to the air, but I did snuggle down against the warm scales.  
    "It's cold," Ryan noted hesitantly.  
    "Lean into him," I supplied. "Come on, he's materialized heat."  
    Ryan grumbled, shifting how he sat and leaning forward a bit. He made a noise, though, and shifted and slid back some.  
    ' _Don't fall off_ ,' Gable urged him. ' _I can loop around and catch you, but neither you or Brian will be happy with that_.'  
    "I don't want to have my face in Brian's ass," Ryan retorted.  
    I started laughing, looking back to see that he had put about a foot between us.  
    Gable snorted at us both.  
  
  
 ***Ryan**  
    It was strange to walk into the gym of Gable's hotel instead of going up to the suites, but I realized why we were doing it as I did so. Kevin was sparring Josh.  
    I rubbed at my ribs as I stopped to look between them.  
    "You're a bastard," Josh informed me, though his eyes were bright.  
    "Nah, I'm second born," I returned.  
    He started laughing, turning to _look_ at me.  
    Kevin gave me an amused look.  
    I laughed, moving over to hug the vampire...who swore and yanked away from me.  
    "What?" I asked, stepping back from him.  
    He made an unhappy noise, and I saw a scalded mark on his arm where I'd leaned into him.  
    I stared at it, then looked up to his eyes. That meant that I was protected...that L had protected me.  
    He made a face at me, then huffed and shifted away. "I think we can break and shower," he urged Kevin. "After we all eat and catch up, we can see if we're up for more."  
    Kevin nodded, watching him go a moment before raising his eyebrows at me in question.  
    I nodded slightly, looking away. That _was_ bad, it meant what he thought it meant, and we both knew there was nothing to do about it.  
    They disappeared into the showers.  
    ...I could say _so_ much about that.  
    "Bite me, Halgar," Kevin noted as the door swung closed behind him.  
    I laughed, moving across the gym to an adjoining room where L and Joey were doing yoga with Hoc.  
    "Ry!" L bounced up and ran over to hug me, kissing me. I forgot the others existed, but flinched away from her tight embrace when it hit my ribs. "Aw, do I have to be gentle?" she teased.  
    "I suppose you'll be happier," I retorted.  
    She giggled at me.  
    "Oh for goodness sake," Hoc threw a towel over our heads. "I'd say get a room, but then you will."  
    L started giggling wickedly, turning to pout at him. "You wanna watch instead?"  
    "Yes," he agreed with perfect aplomb.  
    L burst into embarrassed giggles, turning to hide her face in my shoulder.  
    I gave him a skeptical look.  
    "Audacity has to be tempered with reality," he winked at me. "I'd no sooner watch you than this one with the vampire," he indicated Joey.  
    "It is _not_ like that!" Joey stamped his foot.  
    I started laughing, then groaned as pain swarmed through my world.  
    "I'll go wash up and change," L muttered, turning into the main gym.  
    "Or...we can go find a room," I noted, watching her walking. She flicked her hips slightly, but didn't stop walking away.  
    Hoc snorted.  
    I laughed again, turning to look at him, then realized I was blocking the door. I shifted out of the path.  
    "Hoc!" Brian said happily, bouncing over to hug him briefly. "What's going on?"  
    "Where were you?" Hoc asked blankly, looking around to me. "All you missed was the wizard trying to give me and the lad a show."  
    Brian blinked at them, then rolled his eyes and looked to me.  
    "It was just a kiss," I retorted, giving the guy a dour look.  
    Hoc laughed, and they disappeared into the shower room as well.  
    "What...did I miss?" Brian asked, looking around. "Gable said they were in here."  
    "I hugged Josh and it burned him," I supplied, making a face.  
    He frowned as well, looking down. "That's unfortunate."  
    "Well," I muttered as I thought about it. "For him, anyway."  
    Brian gave me a look.  
    "She went to wash up," I added, indicating the ladies' bathroom. "Kev and Josh went in first...we should start back for the room. None of them really know how slow I move...maybe Kev."  
    Brian shrugged his consent at that, shifting from my path. "I'm going to wait to greet Josh. I'll tell them you're gimpin'."  
    I laughed again, turning to push on toward the elevators. I hadn't done much over the course of the morning, and I still wanted take a quick nap...and I had to go up _how_ may floors to get to the suite?  
    I focused on moving forward at my snail's pace. Maybe, by the time I got to the elevator, the rest would have caught up with me. It didn't matter, anyway, because we were here to visit and relax...at least until Bui fixed things with his ex.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** These are all the flawless ideas I have for now, but more will come. Writing these stories is like enjoying a bit of chocolate, pleasure for the sake of pleasure. I enjoy the characters and hope everyone who read did as well. Thanks for your time. ~kye


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